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Chael Sonnen has opened up about which UFC fighters he believes are the top-three PPV draws in the sport of mixed martial arts today. The fighters named by ‘The American Gangster’ are Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal, and Nate Diaz, in that order.
In an edition of Beyond the Fight, former UFC star and world-renowned MMA analyst Chael Sonnen spoke about a recent conversation between himself and Nate Diaz. Sonnen expounded upon Diaz’s star power, amidst ongoing speculation in the combat sports community that the Stockton native could possibly be leaving the UFC after his next fight.
On that note, Chael Sonnen asserted that whatever fight Nate Diaz decides to compete in next would be a big deal. He simultaneously revealed which three fighters he feels are the biggest stars in the UFC right now. Sonnen stated:
“Anything Nate does is going to be big, guys. Make no mistake, the order is extremely clear – The three biggest draws in MMA are Conor McGregor still, Jorge Masvidal, Nate Diaz. And that two and three, is a very close split. But I only bring that to you because whatever Nate does next is going to be a big deal. We get that. We agree to that.”
You can check out Chael Sonnen’s statements in the video below:
Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal, and Nate Diaz are at different levels in regards to momentum in the UFC
Conor McGregor has suffered back-to-back TKO losses to Dustin Poirier this year. Whereas, Jorge Masvidal has lost two consecutive fights to reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman – via unanimous decision last July and via second-round KO this April.
McGregor is presently recovering from a leg injury and is expected to return in 2022. Masvidal is scheduled to fight Leon Edwards at UFC 269 on December 11th.
Meanwhile, Nate Diaz’s last couple of fights have witnessed him lose via third-round TKO to Jorge Masvidal in 2019 and via unanimous decision to Leon Edwards in June of this year. That said, the Edwards loss ended up benefitting Diaz’s brand rather than hurting it.
The UFC megastar from Stockton, California, was outworked by Leon Edwards for the majority of the fight. Nevertheless, Nate Diaz stunned Edwards late in the fifth and final round of their fight and almost knocked him out.
While ‘Rocky’ survived until the final bell and won via unanimous decision, it was Nate Diaz who walked out of that fight with all the momentum on his side. Diaz has just one fight left on his current UFC contract and could potentially try his hand at boxing after his next octagon appearance. His next opponent and comeback date are yet to be revealed.
