Chael Sonnen believes it would be “cruel” for Colby Covington to not receive UFC title shot in return: “Clearest number one contender in the sport”

Chael Sonnen believes Colby Covington has to be next for UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

‘Rocky’ returned to the octagon over the weekend in the main event of UFC 286. Edwards faced Kamaru Usman in a trilogy bout for the UFC welterweight title. Just months after knocking out ‘The Nigerian Nighmare’ to claim gold, the Brit defended it against the former champion.

In the main event of UFC 286, the British welterweight made it 2-1 in the series, defeating Usman by majority decision. Edwards didn’t have long to celebrate, however, as he learned in the post-fight press conference he would face Colby Covington next. ‘Chaos’ even weighed in for the main event as a backup fighter.

In the aftermath of the event, Leon Edwards stated that he doesn’t intend to fight Colby Covington next. ‘Rocky’ stated that the former interim champion doesn’t deserve the shot due to his inactivity, and lack of major recent wins. It’s safe to say Chael Sonnen doesn’t agree with that assessment.

‘The Bad Guy’ discussed the welterweight title picture in a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel. There, Sonnen stated that it would be cruel and disrespectful not to give the shot to Covington, as the UFC established the precedent that the backup fighter will get a title shot next.

Chael Sonnen discusses Colby Covington vs. Leon Edwards

“Guess what they did for Kamaru Usman when he was a backup fighter? They gave him a world title shot. “Chael Sonnen stated in the video uploaded to his YouTube channel. “Guess what they did for Michael Chandler when he was a backup fighter? They gave him a world title shot. So now you have Colby Covington, he sacrificed, he dedicated, he showed courage, he got on a plane and went through a training camp. He has guys to pay.”

He continued, “…You have Colby Covington who is the clearest number one contender in the sport, not just the division. We have no weight class, where there is a more obvious number one. But we couldn’t give him a title shot, but why? Because we already did, twice…”

“Put yourself in Colby’s shoes. If you did your thing better than anybody, and you go recognized, but you didn’t get paid, and you didn’t get the opportunity. You knew the money wasn’t coming, and you knew the opportunity wasn’t coming. But you got up every day, trainer twice a day, and you grounded out to hold that number one position because you don’t know anything else, that’s what Colby did. The fact that this opportunity has opened itself up, it would not only be disrespectful, it would not be wrong, it would be a flat-out cruel thing to do.”

What do you make of these comments? Do you agree with Chael Sonnen? Sound off in the comment section below PENN Nation!