Chael Sonnen encourages Joaquin Buckley amidst Ariel Helwani feud: “Don’t answer questions. Handle them!”
Former UFC star Chael Sonnen weighed in on Joaquin Buckley’s recent tense back-and-forth with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.
Buckley defeated Vicente Luque by TKO at UFC Atlantic City last Saturday. It was arguably the biggest win of his career and skyrocketed his stock in the UFC welterweight division.
In the days after the big win, Buckley made the rounds in MMA media. One of his stops was on The MMA Hour, where he and Helwani had an awkward interview.
During the interview, Buckley accused Helwani of trying to hurt fighters with his conversational tactics. He directly accused Helwani of trying to get fighters in trouble with the UFC brass with some of the angles he tries to ask about.
Sonnen, who made a living through the media during and after his career, thinks Buckley can use the awkward encounter as a learning experience.
Chael Sonnen advises Joaquin Buckley after tense The MMA Hour interview
During a recent YouTube segment, Sonnen advised Buckley on how to handle future media obligations.
“You’re not under subpoena, you don’t have to be here, you’re not under oath,” Sonnen said to Buckley. “You don’t answer questions, you handle questions…it’s just a mindset. A mindset when you become a little bit looser, that it doesn’t matter what Ariel asks, because you don’t have to answer the question. It’s not an interrogation, you’re here to have a conversation, you’re here to handle the questions…
“Use that as a bridge that serves your agenda…just make sure that you understand that it’s a conversation. If you find yourself in a position where you feel interrogated, just to break out of that, ask [the interviewer] a question.”
Despite his thoughts on MMA media, Buckley has been a force since making the full-time move to welterweight. He’s won three straight fights, including a wild head kick knockout against André Fialho in 2023.
Sonnen also explained how impressed he’s been with Buckley during his recent winning streak. He thinks that a different approach to interviews could benefit him in a big way.
As Buckley awaits his next UFC test, he’ll likely get more media spotlight, and taking advice from one of the UFC’s all-time best personalities might not be a bad idea.
