‘Don’t come out and lie,” UFC Legend ruthlessly thrashes top journo ‘misleading’ fighters to follow Francis Ngannou’s boxing path

Chael Sonnen and Ariel Helwani had an heated discussion on The MMA Hour over Francis Ngannou's exploits and future possibilities.

‘Don’t come out and lie,” UFC Legend ruthlessly thrashes top journo ‘misleading’ fighters to follow Francis Ngannou’s boxing path

Chael Sonnen deliberated on the Francis Ngannou vs Tyson Fury aftermath (Source: Twitter/IMAGO)

An interview between Ariel Helwani and Chael Sonnen quickly became a shouting match on Wednesday. The former ESPN co-hosts of Ariel and The Bad Guy discussed the Riyadh season boxing bout. Helwani delved into multiple topics of contention. He had brought Sonnen on to weigh in on Francis Ngannou‘s split decision loss to Tyson Fury.

Sonnen gave Ngannou no chance, and Ngannou surprised everyone. Helwani wanted Sonnen to admit he was wrong about Francis Ngannou. However, it became a quarreling match. The stint of quarreling on MMA topics remains nothing new between the two. But things took a turn, with both of them calling each other a liar continuously. In the interview, Sonnen said:

Hold on. Hold on! You just lied. Stop. Stop! There is nobody, including a terrible dirt sh*t that has said 10 to 20 million. Not to mention, how awful would they be? I mean, that's a vast prediction. 10 to 20 million is a hundred percent gap. One million to five is what a professional would do; and in all fairness he got ten million dollars. He's [Ngannou] always said ten million dollars. No one's predicted 20 millions. Don't come out and lie.
Chael Sonnen via The MMA Hour
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Helwani had mentioned that Ngannou would likely bank between $10-20 million for the boxing match. He even argued that the event was successful on pay-per-view. Sonnen refuted this statement vigorously. He mentioned that the reported earning was always ten million, not twenty. Sonnen also claimed that the PPV did not find success as most people thought it would.

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The conversation slowly turned hostile, with Sonnen at one point threatening to “strangle” Helwani. Helwani also repeatedly kept calling Sonnen a “liar.” After minutes of back-and-forth shouting, Sonnen abruptly ended the interview. The interviewer, Helwani, remained surprised by the course of events.

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Chael Sonnen threatens to strangle Ariel Helwani in middle of an interview

Ariel Helwani and Chael Sonnen got into quite a back-and-forth during the former UFC veteran’s appearance on The MMA Hour. They discussed Francis Ngannou’s success and what was next for him in combat sports. But at one point, the argument got heated enough to invoke threats of bodily harm in the truest fashion.

Chael Sonnen
Chael Sonnen (Source: MMA News)

Although their conversation began cordially when Helwani complimented ‘The American Gangster’ on his improved studio setup, it turned ugly. The day’s topic was Ngannou’s defeat to Fury and its aftermath. Sonnen noted that ‘The Battle of the Baddest’ didn’t do well on pay-per-view. He mentioned that he thought it would be difficult for ‘The Predator’ to get another boxing match because of how promoters did business. Things only went downhill from there. Sonnen said:

Ariel, you keep cutting me off. I don't understand why you do that. I would strangle you if I was there. You come and talk to me all mouthy like this?
Chael Sonnen via The MMA Hour.

It was a spirited discussion that saw Sonnen sling insults at Helwani, calling him a “weasel,” and the Canadian firing back by questioning some of his claims. Helwani also lashed out at Sonnen for suggesting he was only happy because of his vendetta against the UFC.

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