"They were setting Jake up" - Chael Sonnen believes Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury was always going to be 'buried'

Chael Sonnen believes the fight between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury was intentionally made to fall apart.

Sonnen reasoned out that the people behind the scenes did not want Paul to get his deserved recognition. The former UFC fighter believes promoters feared 'The Problem Child' might defeat Fury and gain significant momentum in the pro-boxing world at the expense of 'TNT'.

'The Bad Guy', in a video posted to his YouTube channel, said:

"I do think that we have at least calmed the awful, awful idea of Fury vs. Paul. And the only thing that I'll ever say about this fight that I don't want to see it. If they make that fight, you'll never hear me speak about it again. But you'll never hear anything positive from the other people who are trying to get behind it. They were setting Jake up. And the day that ink dried up on the contracts, they were going to bury the fight which was their plan all along... Because [they were not sure of beating Jake Paul]."

Watch Sonnen's take on the canceled Paul vs. Fury fight below:

Jake Paul and Tommy Fury were supposed to lock horns last December in what many believed would be the YouTuber's first real challenge. However, the matchup fell through after the British up-and-comer was forced to pull out, citing a rib injury and a "bacterial chest infection."

Fury was replaced by former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Paul knocked Woodley out in the sixth round of their bout.

'The Problem Child' has since stated that he's no longer interested in fighting Fury. Paul has named Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. as his preferred next opponents.

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Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. reveals his one condition for taking on Jake Paul

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. recently revealed that Jake Paul's team contacted him regarding a potential fight. He also laid down a condition for taking the fight against 'The Problem Child'. According to the 35-year-old, a 50/50 split in pay-per-view revenue has to be accepted by Paul's team to make the fight happen.

In an interview with fightnews.com, the Mexican said:

“Jake Paul and his people contacted me regarding a fight with Paul. I said yes, but then again Lupe Valencia, who is with Paul now and used to be with me a few years back said they offered me one to three million dollars plus pay-per-view. When it’s a fight that can sell millions and can break records because he is popular and I have a name, I’m a former world champion, so I made it clear that it has to be a 50/50 split for me to take the fight."

If the fight between Paul and Chavez Jr. takes place, it will surely be the YouTube star's toughest challenge to date. However, Tommy Fury is also expecting the grudge match against Paul to take place in 2022 and has revealed that negotiations are in place for the matchup.

In any case, it seems like Paul's next opponent is going to be a professional boxer after all.