Chael Sonnen blasts Charles Oliveira’s ‘list of demands’ associated with Conor McGregor/Michael Chandler backup role

Chael Sonnen thinks Charles Oliveira might’ve blown his chances at being the backup fighter to Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler at UFC 303.

McGregor and Chandler will finally clash in the UFC 303 main event on June 29 in Las Vegas. The fight comes after months of speculation over whether or not the matchup would finally come to fruition.

Oliveira, after a loss to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300, wants to be the backup fighter to the McGregor vs. Chandler showdown. He defeated Chandler at UFC 262 for the then-vacant title and has called out McGregor on numerous occasions during his UFC tenure.

But, there’s one condition for Oliveira to accept an offer to serve as the fight’s backup. If his services are required, he wants to be assured he can re-negotiate the fight contract to a higher price tag and not the standard backup fighter payout.

Sonnen feels this is a significant mistake by Oliveira.

Chael Sonnen scoffs at Charles Oliveira for UFC 303 backup remarks

https://youtu.be/TzOiC1dq2o0?si=FW7yTfHFxEikjE4W&t=1562

In a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy with Daniel Cormier, Sonnen scoffed at Oliveira’s demands for a backup role.

“He has a list of demands,” Sonnen said of Oliveira. “Demands to be the backup fighter…so I’d like to ask, do you think the UFC wants those demands? Or will you compare it to me riding down and throwing a bottle into the ocean with a tag that says ‘NASA’, to let NASA know my demand to be the first human on Jupiter? Which demand is going to be thrown in the trash can first?

“He’s not joking about this – ‘I’ll fight on that date, IF’…from a business standpoint, he needs to take a good look at that, and [neither Chandler nor McGregor] are pulling out of that fight…you damn sure aren’t fighting!”

McGregor nor Chandler have pulled out of a fight during their respective UFC tenures. This makes Oliveira’s hope to fill in at UFC 303 even more daunting.

The exact financial figures associated with being a UFC backup aren’t public, although Oliveira’s recent pitch makes it seem as though the payout is less than desirable.

As of this writing, the UFC hasn’t named a formal backup fighter to McGregor vs. Chandler, and Sonnen feels Oliveira self-sabotaged and took his name out of the mix.