UFC Legend Addresses NCAA College Wrestling’s Biggest Mistake Ahead of 2025 Season

Known for his humorous verdicts, a former UFC contender is bringing out the same charm yet again after so many years. Among the entertaining figures in MMA, his straightforwardness and witty take against the wrestling world and its wrestlers is something that he has been doing since his wrestling career. This time he takes up a major topic of discussion that comes as the biggest concern of the NCAA.

The retired fighter shares bold predictions about emerging wrestlers like Bo Nickal while also referencing established figures like Jon Jones. The NCAA All-American wrestler takes center stage to present his own pointers and views on the workings of NCAA wrestling and its required changes.

Chael Sonnen’s take on NCAA wrestling

Chael Sonnen feels NCAA wrestling needs a makeover. The retired MMA fighter channels out his energy, giving his take on the workings of the NCAA in one of his recent episodes of the Nickals and Dimes show, with an in-depth discussion alongside Bo Nickal on the improvements.

“But if I could do one thing, if I had one hope, it wouldn’t just be the NCAA, but it would be everything. USA Wrestling is more guilty. It is this wrestle back issue; it’s very hard, and we have some of the best matches in the wrestle back.”

Concerning the fighter’s inability to back up, Chael mentions the missed chances and how the wrestlers, not only the collegiate ones but also the senior or the established ones, specifically from the U.S., often skip wrestle-backs, missing out on exciting matchups that could showcase their skills.

“I can think of this year’s trials, but I wanted to see two matches really bad, I wanted to see Levi take on Carr, and I wanted to see Levi take on O’Toole. I got both of those plus Carr versus O’Toole in like a 50-minute period because they just kept running them out there, but none of those guys pledged, and anybody else, particularly Levi, uh, O’Toole, somebody there, some coach, somebody’s going to get involved and say, ‘No, let’s do this later.’ I love that they didn’t do that.”

Chael highlights matchups like Keegan O’Toole vs. Levi Haines and David Carr vs. Keegan O’Toole at the 2024 World Team Trials as some of his favorites. While defeating his longtime rival David Carr, Keegan O’Toole’s win by 9-4 was indeed special. His second mention, however, came when NCAA champion Levi Haines went against 2x NCAA champion Keegan O’Toole at the trials. The potential meetup, however, ended with Haines taking up the victory by a 6-0 victory over O’Toole.

“If I had a magic wand that could fix one thing, man, I really do wish guys would wrestle back. I think who third is really important. I think who fifth is really important. I would like to know the guys that we put third, fourth, fifth, sixth are actually the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth guy.”

Sonnen envisions major changes to NCAA wrestling. The former wrestler stresses how important it is for wrestlers to fight for spots like third, fourth, fifth, or sixth, pointing out that these rankings matter and should be taken seriously by those who earn them. However, it’s not just the negatives that he had something to say about when it comes to the NCAA.

Chael takes a different perspective on the NCAA

For Chael Sonnen, the NCAA does require major changes in wrestling, but there remain some areas that attract him the most. It’s not just about the regular competition for him; it’s those backup matches that reflect some of the best performances given out by the wrestlers. The importance here lies in the constellation of semis and medal matches that make wrestling a beloved sport for Chael.

The fun for him comes when fighters miss out on their scheduled matches and end up getting to compete against unexpected opponents. Those scheduled matches on who is up against whom, however, make Chael uninterested, which gives him a thought over the process with a much-needed requirement for the NCAA wrestling programs, where it should be just about the competition rather than a money-making process.

“That is the most fun to watch because you get to know him right. Then you know if I’m watching with somebody else that doesn’t follow like me, I mean, it’s a guy, and then 40 minutes later he’s up, and again 40 minutes later he could be up again for seventh place. And no, I love that. I respect that round so much it drives me crazy.”

Chael Sonnen’s views concerning the wrestlers of the NCAA point out the fact that fighters shouldn’t settle for an easy process but rather go for the unknown. Having three months of training with a proper background check on the opponent fighter with a paper to take notes on should not be the way wrestlers of today should act. The wrestlers have to be ready to take off against any of the opponents faced in a given match, which, according to Chael Sonnen, remains one of the positive factors in wrestling.