Chael Sonnen applauds “perfect” welterweight Colby Covington for his callout of Israel Adesanya

MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has applauded Colby Covington for his recent callout of UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

It’s become pretty common for high-level UFC fighters to either tease moving weight classes or outright do it. Sometimes it goes well and sometimes it doesn’t, but it always creates some real intrigue – mainly because it has the potential to completely change what we knew about their fight style and career path.

Colby Covington is an elite welterweight but he’s also one of the bigger guys currently residing in the top 10. After he recently flirted with the idea of taking on Adesanya at 185, former middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen decided to praise his fellow trash talker.

“If you want big rewards then you’ve got to take big risks and this was the first time ever that he spoke about it – I loved it. I loved it. There is no greater system created in unarmed combat to get yourself a fresh coat of paint, hitting the redo button, than changing weight classes.”

Sonnen also noted that Covington was the “perfect” size for welterweight right now, suggesting he’s a bit too big for lightweight and a bit too small for middleweight.

“If you want a piece of Adesanya then all you’ve got to do is get his attention. Everybody that’s ever gotten Izzy’s attention did it in a negative way. They did it by being a jerk. If you put Izzy into a corner, he’ll come out fighting just like any other animal.”

Adesanya has fought wrestlers before and he’ll continue to do so as he progresses through his career, but the personality of Covington is what makes this particular match-up all the more intriguing.

Is there a chance we’ll see Colby Covington challenging Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title at some point in the next few years? If so, who do you think would be the rightful favourite to win the fight? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments, BJPENN Nation!