Chael Sonnen Calls Nate Diaz ‘Unintentional Genius’

Chael Sonnen believes Nate Diaz is an unintentional genius in the way that he conducts himself.

Diaz recently returned to the Octagon earlier this year when he defeated Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision at UFC 241. The Stockton native’s comeback was highly-anticipated and his stock went up further following the win.

For Sonnen, it’s a product of Diaz just being authentic:

“I just think when you look at somebody like Nate Diaz, who unintentionally, many people will believe he’s a marketing genius and many people will believe he just stumbled into something,” Sonnen said in a recent video. “I believe he’s an unintentional genius. What he does is absolutely brilliant, I just don’t think there was a strategy ahead of time.”

Many questioned the star power of Diaz without Conor McGregor heading into UFC 241. However, the former title challenger proved that he was very much a star with even UFC president Dana White admitting he was a needle-mover.

Sonnen believes it’s not just the fact that he beat McGregor, but also that Diaz is very easy to relate to for fans because of his authenticity:

“One thing about him is he’s real,” Sonnen added. “He’s authentic. When he speaks and he says something, there’s no tongue-in-cheek. There’s no winking, there’s no trying to get eyeballs and sell pay-per-views. There’s a real guy with real guy problems, from a real tough city in a real tough sport that’s trying to get by.”

“There’s just something there that people can relate to and it’s special. It’s not overly creative, it’s not manufactured in any way. It’s basic, it’s humble, it’s clean, it’s honest. It’s compelling.”

Do you agree with Sonnen about Diaz?