Chael Sonnen: “Shavkat Rakhmonov is not smart”

MMA great Chael Sonnen recently commented on Shavkat Rakhmonov's choice to publicly criticize Kelvin Gastelum.

Rakhmonov, who is undefeated, last contested at UFC 285 and used a rear-naked choke to force Geoff Neal to submit late in the third round. Joe Rogan entered the Octagon shortly after the fight to conduct a post-fight interview with the budding Kazakh star.

The well-known podcaster claimed that the 17-0 Rakhmonov had moved into a "top contender position" after defeating Neal. The UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards or Colby Covington, according to Rakhmonov, are his top choices for the following opponent.

However, it now seems that 'Nomad' is interested in facing Kelvin Gastelum in his 170lbs return next, much to the dismay of Chael Sonnen. Sonnen recently posted a video on his YouTube channel in which he criticised 'Nomad' for calling Gastelum out in a "wimpy" way.

"He [Rakhmonov] called out Kelvin Gastelum," Sonnen said. "And it was nice, it was friendly, right, I mean it was about as wimpy as you could do a callout while still qualifying as a callout. It was more like a suggestion or an idea that came from him than it was a callout. In fact, it was even a question, 'Should I be the one to welcome Kelvin Gastelum back at 170?"

"You had a very powerful person say, 'Your next fight will be for the world championship,'" Sonnen said. "You sat on that for three months, and decided to ask, in question form, about Kelvin Gastelum... There's so many words I could use to describe Rakhmonov, smart doesn't make the list."