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Chael Sonnen recently reacted to footage of Conor McGregor hitting the heavy bag during a recent training session. While the UFC icon lauded McGregor's striking prowess, he explained why the video indicated that the Irishman wasn't ready to make his long-awaited return to action.
McGregor recently took to Instagram to share a post promoting the BKFC 65 event. In his post, he also shared footage of him working on a punching bag without any gloves. It's worth noting that he suffered a toe injury earlier this year that forced him out of his UFC 303 comeback fight against Michael Chandler. He's widely campaigned for his return fight to be rescheduled for the end of this year.
However, Sonnen doesn't think 'The Notorious' is ready to enter the cage again. After reviewing the footage, 'The American Gangster' believes McGregor isn't striking the way he should be.
In a video uploaded to YouTube, Sonnen questioned the speed of McGregor's striking, pointing out that his core punching technique was clearly visible. He said:
"It's the things that aren't in the video... I thought it was a vacation video... When I talk about what's not in the video, a gym, let's start with that. A coach, let's lead with that. Teammates, let's go to that. You cannot get better without a team and nobody ever has... I'm watching Conor, and it's not a workout. It's soft. It's slow and methodical."
Sonnen continued:
"It's too soft to be a warmup, not to mention warming up for what? There's no coach here. There are no partners here... It's also too slow to be a cool-down... There are some absolute tells that a guy isn't ready to fight... If a guy ever exercises or trains with a hat on, it is over."
Catch Chael Sonnen's comments below (3:34):
Shavkat Rakhmonov on Conor McGregor potentially getting UFC welterweight title shot
UFC welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov recently shared his thoughts on Conor McGregor potentially getting a title shot with a win in his return fight. Rakhmonov clarified that he wasn't bothered by McGregor and opined that he didn't see the Irishman getting a title shot.
During an interview with MMA Fighting, Rakhmonov outlined that he didn't see McGregor winning after such a long layoff. Explaining his point of view, the 29-year-old said:
"I don't even think about when Conor gonna fight, when he's gonna be ready, I don't think about all that... In my head, I don't even think about him winning this one fight in three years [is] gonna do something... I believe [the] UFC is the best and most fair organization, so I believe they're going to do everything right."
Catch Shavkat Rakhmonov's comments below (10:42):
