Chael Sonnen has said a lot of things that have gotten Dana White’s attention, but rarely does he get a rebuke from the UFC president.
That changed Tuesday night when White responded to Sonnen’s recent accusation that Leon Edwards “cheated” multiple times before knocking out welterweight champ Kamaru Usman with a head kick in the UFC 278 headliner.
Sonnen cited repeated fence grabs by Edwards – and the absence of point deductions from the referee – in wrestling sequences with Usman as a pivotal sequence that set up the highlight-reel finish. White dismissed any untoward aspects of the performance by White.
“He was crowned champion by a head kick,” White stated at the press conference after-fight for DWCS Season 6, 6. He didn’t take the fence. He was dominated throughout the fight except for the last few minutes of round 1.
“He was completely dominated by Chael Sonnen, which is totally unfair. The kid took it all in, dug deep and scored the perfect head kick with less than a minute remaining. I would say that’s silly, ridiculous, and absolutely unfair to say.”
Several MMA observers noted fouls by both parties during the welterweight championship fight. They cited refer Herb Dean’s incoherent application of warnings regarding Edwards’ glove-holding and fence grabs later in the fight.
Sonnen opined that Usman was “too much of a gentleman” to protest and said an immediate rematch in the works ruled out the need to call out Edwards’ behavior. The three-time UFC champion said that the story had to be told.
“Kamaru Usman is very likely to smother you and change you when he’s on top of you,” Sonnen sadi. “He is most likely to finish a fight from that position, particularly when he has you pinned up against the fence. Kamaru did three times, Leon changed the position and got out of that three times by cheating.
“So now you’re in a fifth round that you never should’ve been in, potentially – you take a kick in a fight that you were winning, that you were trying to finish, and you had the position you needed to get said finish and the opponent cheated three times.”
White has said the promotion is working on an immediate rematch between Usman and Edwards to take place somewhere in the U.K., Edwards’ adopted home country. Edwards’ coach has cast doubt on Usman’s ability to bounce back after the knockout loss. Prior to the head kick in the fifth round, Edwards was down 3-1 on every judges’ scorecard.
