Chael Sonnen on Justin Gaethje's mindset - "He has very bad intentions" 

Chael Sonnen lavished praise on Justin Gaethje for his mindset. He feels that Gaethje doesn't just want to beat his opponents but win in emphatic fashion.

In a clip posted to his YouTube channel, Sonnen narrated a story that demonstrates how Gaethje approaches fights. He even called the No.1-ranked lightweight "one of the great competitors in the history of sports":

"Somebody asked Gaethje about him and his fight with Chandler, which was not only Fight of the Night but Fight of the Year. Gaethje said, 'I thought it was boring.' Generally, when a guy gives you an answer like that, he's just being a petulant child that wants you to tell him what a good job he did... That's not what Gaethje was doing here... Gaethje said, 'It was one of the few nights when I was so focused on winning instead of knocking him out.' Gaethje was letting us into his mindset... That is one of the great competitors in the history of sports."

Sonnen went on to applaud Gaethje's mentality inside the cage:

"He's giving you an inside look. He does not want to beat people, he wants to beat people up. He does not want to win rounds against opponents. He wants to put opponents to sleep. He has very bad intentions."

Watch the entire clip below:

Justin Gaethje will get another crack at the lightweight gold when he takes on Charles Oliveira at UFC 274. The 33-year-old's last shot at the title was against Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2020. He lost via submission in the second round.

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Justin Gaethje believes Conor McGregor is "irrelevant" and not worthy of a title shot

Before Gaethje's fight against Oliveira was announced, Conor McGregor expressed a desire to take on the lightweight champion on his return to the octagon.

However, Gaethje dismissed the idea of the Irishman jumping the queue and branded him "irrelevant". During an interview with Caroline Pearce of BT Sports, 'The Highlight' said:

"He's irrelevant right now. He's got a broken leg. With that question, you have to question the integrity and you know, you, as a journalist, have to stand behind it. You know that it should never happen and you should do everything to keep it from happening."

Check out the entire interview below:

Gaethje and Oliveira are two of the most exciting fighters in MMA and could put on a classic when they clash at UFC 274.