"Pretty cool story" - Chael Sonnen's unexpected change of heart from calling Lionel Messi a "bum" to admiring his loyalty

Chael Sonnen seems to have had a change of heart about Lionel Messi. While 'The American Gangster' has previously dismissed the Argentinian soccer legend's sporting accomplishments, the former UFC star is highly impressed by 'La Pulga's loyalty to his wife.

It's no secret that Sonnen isn't a fan of soccer and has even gone so far as to claim that it's not a 'real' sport. Given his love for combat sports and full-contact athletic pursuits, the former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight contender has also stated that he believes most soccer fans pretend to like watching it.

During one of his infamous anti-soccer rants on social media in 2022, Chael Sonnen fired a vicious shot at Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney for praising Lionel Messi as the greatest of all time. Responding to one of Rooney's tweets, Sonnen wrote:

"Messi is a BUM. So are you."

Nevertheless, it appears that while Chael Sonnen isn't a fan of Lionel Messi, he has a lot of respect for the Argentinian's habit of not physically touching any woman except his wife.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Sonnen narrated how his son told him about Messi's habit of balling his fists when taking pictures with female fans to avoid touching them. He continued:

"I do like this Messi character though... He met his wife when he was seven years old, and he's never touched another girl and won't even do pictures with them. I like that guy... That's a pretty cool story."

Catch Sonnen's comments below (37:00):

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Chael Sonnen explains how Khamzat Chimaev vs. Paulo Costa will affect Dricus Du Plessis

Chael Sonnen believes the upcoming middleweight bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa at UFC 294 will wreak havoc on Dricus Du Plessis' title plans.

After Sean Strickland shockingly outpointed Israel Adesanya over five rounds at UFC 293 to become the new middleweight king, many wondered where Du Plessis currently stands regarding the championship opportunity. With Chimaev's highly anticipated middleweight debut against Costa confirmed it appears likely that the winner of that bout could be next in line for the 185-pound title shot.

In the same interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Chael Sonnen explained how Dricus Du Plessis's refusal to fight Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 may have cost him dearly. He said:

"Chimaev versus Paulo Costa just became the No.1 contender's match. It wasn't originally... Strickland versus Paulo works all day long. Strickland versus Chimaev, plus they've trained together, it works all day long... That's going to be the No.1 contender's match and du Plessis is going to get forgotten yet again."