UFC Hall of Famer discusses Merab Dvalishvili choosing to fight with a toe injury, unlike Conor McGregor: "Rich man can't fight"

Chael Sonnen has recently weighed in on Merab Dvalishvili's attitude toward a slight toe injury right before UFC 316. While trying to convey his thoughts, the UFC Hall of Famer compared Dvalishvili and Conor McGregor.

'The Notorious' was set to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 last year. However, due to a similar toe injury, McGregor had to pull out of the scheduled bout.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Sonnen questioned McGregor's toughness while contrasting it to Dvalishvili's toughness, saying:

"[Merab's] not telling you it's nothing as a way of telling you something. He's genuine and sincere that this [toe injury] is not worrisome, and I found that very endearing. I liked it very much, and that makes me just wonder, if Merab just tougher than Conor?"

He added:

"I mean, they both had one of their smaller toes on their opposing foot discolored and placed on the internet. One used that to get out of the fight, and one said it's nothing. And, it is an interesting spot... for the guys that don't need to make the walk. It's harder and harder to get them to make the walk...It's been known for a while that a rich man can't fight."

Check out Chael Sonnen's comments below (3:30):

McGregor's last fight was against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021. Since then, the Irishman has not returned to the UFC octagon.

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Merab Dvalishvili clarifies speculations about potential toe injury

Merab Dvalishvili is set to defend his bantamweight title against Sean O'Malley at UFC 316 on June 7 in Newark, New Jersey. Ahead of the fight, Dvalishvili raised concerns about a significant toe injury in a clip shared by one of his training partners.

In a recent interview with Shak MMA, 'The Machine' addressed the concerns, saying:

"This is my life, man. I always do this kind of stuff; that's how I get motivated. That's how I get strong... No, I don't like to scare [anybody], and now I think everybody has to realize whatever I post in social media this is nothing scary. I'm not going to post if it's something serious injury or something. But if I don't post, if I don't talk about then, maybe, but if I post something about it, it's nothing serious."

Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments below: (5:19)