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Chael Sonnen feels Charles Oliveira cannot be blamed for choosing a 'money fight' with Conor McGregor over the logical title defense against Justin Gaethje. Oliveira has worked his way to the top and Sonnen feels it's a no-brainer that he'd prefer to fight for a bigger payday instead of taking on top-ranked contenders.
According to 'The American Gangster', had Justin Gaethje been in the Brazilian's place, he'd have taken the 'money fight' against the former two-division UFC champ as well. In a recent episode of The Bad Guy INC, Sonnen said the following:
"The one reason and there's only one that we don't want it [next lightweight title challenger] to be Conor is we don't want to screw over Justin Gaethje. Now the litmus test for should we cry and hang our head for Justin Gaethje is simply this, if Justin was in the same position what would Justin do? Would Justin go for the big money fight or would Justin pay attention to the integrity and adhere to that of the rankings? Justin would go for the money fight."
Catch Sonnen's opinion on a potential Charles Oliveira vs. Conor McGregor clash in the video below:
Sonnen also said he believes Gaethje will get the chance to fight for the title down the line but might just have to wait a little bit longer.
Chael Sonnen explains why stars are perfectly aligned for potential title clash between Conor McGregor and Charles Oliveira
Chael Sonnen believes there's a good possibility Oliveira is defending his title against Conor McGregor next. Sonnen pointed out that although he doesn't get to cherry pick his opponents, it'd make sense from a business perspective for the UFC to give in to his demands at the moment.
Sonnen explained that being the champ, Oliveira wants to fight McGregor, who is the "biggest star in the sport", therefore it makes sense for the promotion to give the champ what he wants by booking the fight.
"What the champion wants does matter particularly when it lines up with the biggest star in the sport. If the champion wants what the biggest star in the sport wants, it makes sense that you could bring these things together," Sonnen said.
Conor McGregor recently shared a picture of Oliveira with Neymar on his Instagram story, making clear his intentions to fight Oliveira for the title. Check out the picture below:
