MMA's Chael Sonnen: Tyson Fury is 'bully, scumbag' for boxing Francis Ngannou

Editor’s note: This article was originally published at MMAJunkie.com.

***

Chael Sonnen criticized Tyson Fury for choosing to box Francis Ngannou.

Fury, the heavyweight titleholder, will face former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou in a 10-round pay-per-view boxing match on Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Fury’s title won’t be on the line in the fight, but Sonnen isn’t a fan of the matchup against Ngannou.

“It’s the most ridiculous sporting competition of our lifetime,” Sonnen told The Schmo. “Let me give you an example. Take the Lakers – and the real Lakers, right, back when they had the guy named Shaq [O’Neal] and Kobe Bryant, rest his soul. I don’t know if LeBron [James] was ever on that team, but remember when they were really good?

“And you’ve got Phil Jackson as a coach. Take them and go put them against (Tom) Brady and the Patriots. You’ve got these great teams, but you’re going to go do it under football rules. Do you see how stupid it is? Do you see why it’s never happened? You see why it’s never even been discussed? That’s what’s happening here.”

Sonnen thinks the fight between unbeaten boxing champion Fury and boxing debutant Ngannou will be lopsided, going as far as calling Fury a bully for fighting Ngannou.

“What kind of a scumbag is Fury, though, man? I’ve really got to tell you: Fury broke my heart,” Sonnen said. “I liked this guy, and I liked the entertainment. I like so many things about him. You take a guy like Fury, who God made huge, gave great coaches, great training partners, great experiences, too. He has weapons and tools that other men can’t deal with if they’re not armed.

“And he’s going to choose to use those to beat up a guy who’s at least 37 with no experience and is on one leg? That’s a bully, and it’s a scumbag. I would never do that to somebody. Jesse James made a lot of money, and there’s hitmen that made a lot of money. I mean, there’s things that you can do, but you own it. You’re a bully, and you’re a scumbag.”