Chael Sonnen knows a little something about loudmouth wrestlers maximizing their value in the UFC. He also knew where his bread was buttered after he established himself as a star there, and that led him to fight anyone at any time in any division they asked him to. He was always ready, and that’s why he got shots at multiple titles in the organization.

With that being said, it should come as no surprise that he sees a little of himself in the UFC’s most recent big signing - Ben Askren. Askren came over to the UFC in a “trade” for Demetrious Johnson, but he has been a guy in Dana White’s bad books for many years. Sonnen discussed this on his podcast, and he believes that once Dana realizes what he actually has in Askren he will quickly warm to the former Bellator and ONE champ:

“The ultimate irony, when this whole thing gets worked out between Dana and Ben Askren, is Ben Askren is going to become Dana’s favorite fighter, favorite guy that he has under contract. That’s the part Dana White doesn’t know.”

“Ben Askren will fight anybody, at any weight, any time, no argument. He’s a true competitor, and that used to be a normal mindset. That used to be what Dana got to deal with. Now every time Dana has an idea and wants to do a fight, everybody comes in pushing back. The fighters push back. The media pushes back. The managers push back. You’ve got to have meetings, you’ve got to have sit-downs, you’ve got to have phone calls. It’s so hard to get any work done.”

Askren is different, and while Chael never actually identified the similarities between the two of them when talking about him, the comparisons are obvious. One major difference is that Askren is undefeated, and he’ll get his first shot at making a big impression when he takes on former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 233 in January.