Because of Israel Adesanya‘s five-year title run, Robert Whittaker perhaps doesn’t get the credit he deserves. After all, ‘The Reaper’ got upgraded to undisputed status at 185lbs in the absence of the legendary Georges St-Pierre. Moreover, Bobby Knuckles put down a tank they called Yoel Romero, not once but twice. But alas, the Aussie ran into a young and hungry Israel Adesanya. ‘Izzy’, of course, won the title off of Whittaker in 2019 and the former champ has been on a quest to regain the title ever since.

However, even if ‘The Reaper’ never becomes or even fights for the title again, Chael Sonnen thinks that the Kiwi will be inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame. In fact, the verbose UFC analyst feels that Whittaker is the ‘biggest lock’ for the honor. “Robert Whittaker is so good. Robert Whittaker, tell me if you disagree with this statement, this is a powerful one. And there will be other names. But I believe Robert Whittaker is the biggest lock for the Hall of Fame that the UFC currently has under contract,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.

And Sonnen’s claims do seem to have a lot of merit. After all, Whittaker is a former TUF winner, a former champ, and has lost only to the best of the best in his twelve-year stint at the UFC so far. No one would blink an eye if and when Whittaker’s name is announced for the Hall of Fame.

On the other hand, Sonnen also made another, much more controversial and, at first glance, head-scratching claim- that Conor McGregor will not get into the Hall of Fame. Now you can’t turn to Jon Jones- he’s already in, just for example, and there’s a number of guys that are obviously going. I don’t think Conor’s in as a matter of fact. Max Holloway [is in], for example. You’d have good names and I’m still arguing for you the biggest lock, the biggest guarantee of them all is Robert Whittaker,” he added.

‘Mystic Mac’, of course, is the biggest, most popular star the sport has ever seen. As far as contributions to making the sport more popular, no one even comes close to McGregor. However, his lack of activity as a champion is not quite as extensive. While he was the first two-division concurrent champion in the UFC, he never actually defended any of his two titles. Moreover, his recent legal woes may be the biggest roadblock for him to secure that coveted Hall of Fame spot.

Not to mention he is on a steep downward slope, having won just one of his last five fights. But purely for his contributions to the sport, and because Dana White likes him, it is likely that McGregor will eventually find himself a Hall of Famer sometime down the line. After all the chances of the Irishman’s UFC return get remoter with each passing day and McGregor may have to be content with his very mixed record. Robert Whittaker, on the other hand, is still carving out his legacy, and ‘Uncle Chael’ thinks it’s time for the Kiwi to embark on new endeavors.

Chael Sonnen wants Robert Whittaker to change weight classes

After his UFC 308 loss to Khamzat Chimaev, Robert Whittaker is in kind of a no-man’s land. This loss has knocked him out of the title contention for the time being, and the former champ will have to take the long road back. Although ‘The Reaper’ is still 34, some feel that the Aussie should abandon his middleweight title quest and focus his energies elsewhere- the light heavyweight division, for example.

At least that is what Chael Sonnen suggested Whittaker do. After all, Whittaker has been trying to become champ again at 185lbs for the past half a decade to no avail. A new division with a new and exciting set of opponents like Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Aleksandar Rakic may just revitalize the Kiwi, according to Sonnen. This is also an idea ‘The Reaper’ himself has been toying with.

“I’m still playing with the idea of moving to light heavyweight. I’m a big dude, bigger than people think, but I don’t know,” Whittaker told ‘MMA Arcade’ in a recent interview. And Sonnen wants fans to “encourage that.”

“I am so completely for that idea, and I don’t totally know what would happen. I just know I’ve never seen Robert Whittaker quit ever,” Sonnen told fans. For now, Whittaker is getting some much-needed rest after the Chimaev fight. This will give him plenty of time to think and reflect on the future, which may just see him move to 205lbs, at least that is what Sonnen is hoping. What do you think about Chael Sonnen’s take on Robert Whittaker and Conor McGregor’s Hall of Fame status?