“When a fighter’s talking trash he’s building himself up,” Chael Sonnen believes trash talk is going to be the key to victory for Conor McGregor at UFC 264
Follow Us
Chael Sonnen and Conor McGregor
The former UFC two-division champion, Conor McGregor will be steeping inside the Octagon at UFC 264 to settle down the score against Dustin Poirier in a trilogy fight.
After losing the second fight against Poirier at UFC 257, a lot of people pointed fingers at McGregor that he lost his will to fight. Now, as the fight is just two weeks away many fighters are sharing advice for Conor McGregor.
The UFC veteran and one of the biggest names in the promotion, Chael Sonnen knows very well the significance of a big fight. He also shared his advice for McGregor entering into this fight.
According to Sonnen, ‘The Notorious’ lost the second fight because he wasn’t that aggressive in trash talk. While talking on his Youtube channel, Chael Sonnen tells the importance of trash talk.
Sonnen says, “What’s really happening when a fighter’s talking trash is he’s building himself up. That’s the part that isn’t seen. You think he’s out there trying to sell tickets or talk his way into opportunities or get into your opponent’s head. You’re not wrong, that’s a piece of it.”
“But what’s really happening when you’re saying ‘I am the greatest, I am the best. No one can beat me, I am the greatest of all-time…’ And it goes in that order. You’ll slowly pick it up. You’ll start with, ‘I deserve main events. I can fight for a world championship. I can even beat this guy.’ You’ll keep going.”
Chael Sonnen added, “And the reason that it goes in that order is because you, as the author of that statement, don’t believe it. You’re uncomfortable saying it. You don’t even feel right.” {H/T BloodyElbow}
Chael Sonnen pointed out the mistakes Conor McGregor did at UFC 257
Conor McGregor is one of the biggest trash talkers in UFC and during his previous fights, he really got into the minds of his opponents and this helped him to carve his way to victory.
But during his fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 he seemed more like a nice guy and Chael Sonnen believes this leads him to lose this fight. He added, “When Conor started the PR tour, and he quit doing those things, he quit being brash, it wasn’t just a letdown for us fans that enjoy that commodity that Conor brings to the table, that enjoy the entertainment. He also stopped putting that pressure on himself.”
“He got into the ring as though he was above Poirier. And I’m sure he felt that way. He’d already dusted Poirier. It wasn’t a close contest. At no part in that first fight was Conor ever in trouble. And it was a pretty short night.” {H/T BloodyElbow}
Sonnen continued, “But it was also a meaningful difference whether Conor’s aware of it or not. Saying some of those things isn’t just good for ticket sales. Saying those things isn’t good just to get your opponent to second-guess it. Saying those things is what gets you ready to go out and act on it.”
“Conor found himself in a fight that was harder than Conor thought it was going to be, against a guy whose ass Conor already whooped. Those are the things that started to play the mental game.”
In the end Chael Sonnen concluded, “That’s where Conor thought, ‘Land this big punch, let’s make it all look good, and let’s go home. I’ve got to get out of here.’ He went into panic mode.” {H/T BloodyElbow}
“It’s one of these things where if you admit that ahead of time, that panic mode and that fear, that adversity that you deal with loses its power.”
Stay Updated!
Shivansh Thakur
(1173 Articles Published)