Chael Sonnen details why Charles Oliveira's next fight is an "oxymoron", doubles down on bizarre claim about 'do Bronx' - "Self-administered wounds"

Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on the Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan lightweight barnburner set for UFC 300 and made some intriguing claims about the Brazilian's choice of opponent.

Islam Makhachev defeated Oliveira via second-round submission at UFC 280 to win the vacant lightweight championship. The Brazilian redeemed his loss with an impressive first-round knockout victory over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289, which guaranteed him his title rematch against the lightweight champion.

While 'do Bronx' was booked against Makhachev at UFC 294 this past October, he was forced to pull out of the fight due to picking up an injury while training. Nevertheless, many expected the Makhachev-Oliveira fight to take place next anyway. However, Dana White recently announced that the former champion will face Arman Tsarukyan in a title eliminator at the momentous UFC 300 event in April.

The announcement stunned many, who expected Oliveira to challenge for the title next. However, Sonnen wasn't surprised at all. In a recent YouTube video, 'The American Gangster' reiterated his theory about 'do Bronx' never wanting to fight Makhachev and made some intriguing claims about the Brazilian's injury. He said:

"He doesn't want to fight Islam to a degree that he's refused to fight Islam... The first fight was offered to Charles [UFC 284], and it went to Volk. Then you line up the second fight, extremely begrudgingly by Charles and then you got the cut... They're self-administered wounds, guys. He just didn't want to fight Islam."

Sonnen continued:

"It was such refreshing news to hear that he's booked against somebody else, but the surprise was that the winner takes on Islam... When he fought Benny [Dariush], they said the same thing, and Charles had one of his great performances. Those are oxymorons."

Catch Chael Sonnen's comments below (2:34):

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Chael Sonnen reportedly knew about Charles Oliveira pulling out of Islam Makhachev fight at UFC 294

This isn't the first time Chael Sonnen has made claims about Charles Oliveira allegedly avoiding a fight against Islam Makhachev. The former UFC fighter had previously stated that he knew about Oliveira's intentions never to face the 155-pound kingpin and had told him about pulling out of UFC 294 thrice.

As mentioned, 'do Bronx' was scheduled to fight Makhachev in the rematch at UFC 294 in October 2022. However, the Brazilian suffered a nasty cut above his eye during a training session, and the injury forced him to pull out of the bout.

After the announcement, a fan asked Sonnen on X to confirm if Oliveira had indeed pulled out. The UFC icon quoted the post and wrote:

"Not really. He was never in. He told us 3x he wasn’t fighting in October. Just following through on his word."