"That's the fight" - Chael Sonnen believes Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev is the real 'main attraction'

Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on the upcoming middleweight clash between Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev. The bout is scheduled for UFC 294, and he noted that he believes it is the most intriguing fight on the card.

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, the former UFC middleweight title challenger shared his thoughts on the middleweights being matched up and expressed his excitement for the fight. He mentioned that there is a lot at stake for the winner, and from a North American perspective, he considers it to be the main event:

"I believe that [UFC 294] main event...main attraction, Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev...Here in North America, that's the fight. And we generally won't buy a pay-per-view particularly with this level of excitement and anticipation for a co-main event, and generally Dana [White] would not make it co-main event that was so awesome, that it overshines his main event." [0:08 - 0:47]

Chael Sonnen also mentioned that the fight's winner could very well be officially named the next title challenger for Sean Strickland's middleweight championship. He noted that the potential title implications for the winner are what makes the bout much more intriguing for fans, saying:

"Whoever wins this fight, I believe will be announced quickly as long as we don't have an injury...as the next in line for [Sean] Strickland. Whoever doesn't win, it's gonna be two and three years before that discussion even comes back. This is what we like as fans, right, we like these high-stake matches." [1:28 - 1:49]

It remains to be seen whether Chael Sonnen's prediction regarding the title implications is correct and how soon the UFC will book the title fight if that's indeed the case.

Check out the full video:

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Chael Sonnen was worried that Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev would be changed to 5 rounds

Despite his excitement for Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294, Chael Sonnen revealed he was worried about a change in the fight.

During the video mentioned above, 'The American Gangster' said that he initially believed that the promotion would change the bout from three to five rounds because of both the intrigue and what's possibly at stake. He mentioned that the rounds should remain the same as other bouts because it's not a title fight, saying:

"I don't like the five-round contest, I don't. There's no other sport where when you get to the last of that for the evening that you change the rules, there's no Super Bowl that's five quarters because it's the Super Bowl...It's really strange to me." [1:56 - 2:19]

UFC 294 poster [Photo credit: @ufc - X]