Chael Sonnen has backed Conor McGregor to face Nate Diaz (Image credit: Getty)
UFC rising star Max Rohskopf made the news recently after he told his coach he wanted to stop during a live event
Chael Sonnen shared his thoughts regarding Max Rohskopf and Robert Drysdale from UFC Las Vegas 3.
Rohskopf was facing Austin Hubbard in the first fight of the prelim card and didn’t want to continue after two rounds.
A lengthy exchange took place between him and his coach after the second round. Robert Drysdale, his coach, wanted Rohskopf to continue, but the rising UFC star clearly said he didn’t want to.
A state athletics inspector was the one who called off the fight, and many have questioned both the fighter and the coach.
Some claimed that no one likes a quitter in the Octagon, others lashed out at the coach for forcing his star to do something he didn’t want to.
UFC legend Sonnen shared his side of the story and was on the coach’s side:
“I am on Drysdale’s side because Max said he didn’t want to go out in the third round. He didn’t go out in the third round, I feel like there is nothing to see here.”
Sonnen claimed that Drysdale was only trying to do his job by asking the fighter to continue. However, he acknowledged that didn’t take place and it would have been a different conversation if Rohskopf did go out.
Sonnen reiterated that the fighter did not continue as he wanted to stop and was surprised why so much attention had been showered on this incident.
He also brought up the comparisons with Anthony Smith. Smith had teeth falling out in a recent fight. His corner also received a lot flak for not calling off the fight:
“People are comparing it to the Anthony Smith situation where he is out there for 10 more minutes, his teeth are falling and he is completely exhausted. Its the same situation but he didn’t want to go out and he didn’t go out.
“It seems like he got what he wanted.”
Sonnen came to Rohskopf’s corner too and claimed that the youngster deserved another chance. The UFC legend went on to say that Rohskopf didn’t quit at UFC Las Vegas 3 as he fought for a couple of rounds instead of just covering up and taking punches.
He also brought up that Rohskopf accepted this fight on five days notice, and didn’t understand why this was getting blown out of proportion.
Ariel Helwani and Daniel Cormier also spoke about this issue at length. Helwani believed that MMA fighters needed more protection. The MMA reporter questioned why the coach didn’t stop the fight after Rohskopf said so nine times in the corner.
Cormier, for his part, understood what Drysdale was trying to do. Both the UFC fighters seem to be on the same page. They claimed the coach was only trying to push his fighter, and in the end, the fighter got what he wanted.
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