"We just saw that a week ago with Kamaru Usman" - Chael Sonnen details the effect getting Israel Adesanya 'out of the way' could have on the middleweight division

Chael Sonnen recently discussed the consequences if Israel Adesanya loses to Alex Pereira in their upcoming fight.

In a recent episode of Beyond The Fight, Chael Sonnen also discussed Robert Whittaker's recent thoughts on moving up to the light heavyweight division of the promotion.

During the discussion, 'The Bad Guy' mentioned the potential aftermath of middleweight champion Israel Adesanya's loss to Pereira at UFC 281. If 'The Last Stylebender' is defeated by 'Poatan,' Sonnen suggests a matchup between the Brazilian and 'The Reaper' would be in order. The UFC Hall of Famer said:

"Whittaker vs. Pereira... not to mention, that's an amazing fight. The same could be said for Vettori. Now these guys are in a spot... They are in a spot... Adesanya has done this to the division, just like Kamaru did to 170. You got to get the guy out of the way. Everybody had an opportunity to start to cycle back through... you got to get that guy out of the way... We just saw that a week ago with Kamaru Usman."

Check out Chael Sonnen giving his take on the matter in the video below:

---

Chael Sonnen breaks down Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa ahead of UFC Paris

Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa are all set to face each other at the UFC Fight Night event in Paris. The fight is scheduled for September 3 at the Accor Arena.

In a recent episode of the Beyond The Fight podcast, Chael Sonnen discussed the upcoming heavyweight clash in Paris. Sonnen praised Tuivasa and explained what a win against Gane would mean for 'Bam Bam' :

"Going down and getting a win over Ciryl Gane...Sky's the limit for [Tai] Tuivasa. You do whatever you want with him...I'm sharing with you a win over the former champion who just went 25 minutes with 'The Predator' [Francis Ngnanou], we're having a whole different conversation. When you have a guy that will go get in a dog fight."

Sonnen continued and stated how the Aussie would have to weather the storm in the first round:

"First round's about who's better. You're talking who's better and I'm saying Tuivasa's not very good... That's real, for five minutes then you're in the tough guy business. Tuivasa's a tough guy. So it's one of these spots where heavyweight is changing very quickly."

You can check out the full episode of Beyond The Fight podcast below: