Former fighter turned MMA pundit Chael Sonnen has some big names on his mind for the headliner of UFC 300 on April 13, 2024.
During an interview with MMA Junkie on December 18, Sonnen ruled out a Conor McGregor return for the landmark card:
“To have Conor McGregor back and not use him as your biggest star would be hard to bet on,” Sonnen explained. “However, I do think we will have a title fight in the main event and Conor McGregor doesn’t have a title. So, now if you put Conor on the card – you’re putting your biggest star not in the headliner role — you just demoted your top guy so I think that eliminates Conor.”
Sonnen suggested that the middleweight title fight between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 on January 20 was rushed, with the implication that it exists to set up a showdown between the winner and a returning Israel Adesanya at UFC 300.
According to Sonnen’s perspective, if Adesanya doesn’t make a comeback, he sees Khamzat Chimaev as a plausible alternative to face the winner of UFC 297:
“I believe that the big rush getting [Du Plessis] and Strickland together is because Adesanya is coming back…” Sonnen ruminated. “…[Another big draw] is Chimaev… I do think he’s main event worthy.”
According to UFC CEO Dana White, UFC 300 will be “insane”:
“There’s also much more to it with 300,” White told TNT Sports. “What’s going to make 300 more special than this Saturday night [UFC 296], the last pay per view of the year?
“What you can expect is the first prelim of the night, you’re going to go ‘Holy s***! This is the first prelim of the night. This is insane, this isn’t even right. These two shouldn’t be on the first prelim on the night’ That is how good 300 is going to be.”
There’s no news yet (Dec 19 2023) on the status of UFC 300, only a date and one rumored fighter – Jim Miller. Hopefully White and the UFC can deliver on the bold statements being made around the monumental card.
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