Chael Sonnen Advises Oscar De La Hoya to ‘Stay in Your Lane’ Regarding MMA Promotion

What can we learn from the Tito Ortiz vs Chuck Liddell disaster… pic.twitter.com/aDDhNhdO9K

— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) November 25, 2018

Golden Boy’s maiden voyage into mixed martial arts promotion wasn’t one for the history books – nor was it expected to be.

In this past Saturday’s headliner at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., past-their-prime stars Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell squared off for a third time, nearly 12 years removed from their last meeting. Ortiz, who has fought occasionally in recent years, made quick work of Liddell, who was eight years removed from his last bout. Ultimately, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” never known for his knockout power, KO’ed Liddell 4:24 into the opening stanza. Up until that point, Liddell looked like a man nearing his 50th birthday.

Outside of the main event, the Golden Boy MMA card featured very little of note for a pay-per-view card. Chael Sonnen, who was Ortiz’s last opponent before Liddell, believes Golden Boy head Oscar De La Hoya was never fully invested in his new venture.

“Oscar is not passionate about mixed martial arts, and that was very clear and very obvious,” Sonnen said in a video posted on Twitter. “And when it comes to storytelling and building anticipation, you cannot just set up a ring, and the rest of it takes care of itself. I’ve heard fighters threaten that they were going to leave a promotion and start their own promotion. Go ahead. Go right ahead. That’s essentially what we saw here.

“So, Chuck and Tito come together, go to Oscar, pitch him on an idea that Oscar was never passionate about, he was never behind, with a story that he simply did not know how to tell. It doesn’t make Oscar a bad promoter. The lesson to learn in this is: You got to stay in your lane.”

De La Hoya has promoted numerous boxing cards under the Golden Boy umbrella, but it remains to be seen if the organization will continue to put together MMA events. Based on Sonnen’s advice, it should remain a one-and-done endeavor.