Chael Sonnen has fought against more top all-time greats than any other MMA fighter.

Anderson Silva twice. Jon Jones. Fedor Emelianenko. “The American Gangster” Sonnen lived up to his moniker in a fearless fashion, challenging three of the sport's absolute historical best during his career. Sonnen missed out on fighting one other divisional G.O.A.T., however, and that was Georges St-Pierre.

Comfortably retired but never forgotten, St-Pierre remains a consensus fixture atop GOAT conversations, which made longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan’s recent comments all the more perplexing. Rogan stated on his Joe Rogan Experience podcast alongside guest Luke Combs that Jorge Masvidal is “on another level” above the competition St-Pierre faced, therefore, equating to Masvidal being better than St-Pierre.

“That’s not a rational statement,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “Joe Rogan is fantastic at his job and when you talk a lot you get some things wrong.

“He put Masvidal over as an example that today’s welterweights are far superior and they’re better than Georges St-Pierre. We should just dismiss this. What Joe said and how he did this math is very common, but I would like to correct you to what a non-420 mind can come up with. Joe got to that point by stating that the competition is harder now than it was then. What does the competition have to do with the guy?”

Masvidal was a particularly interesting example used by Rogan. The MMA community was quick to point out on social media after seeing the comments that Masvidal is a seasoned veteran who debuted professionally in 2003 — only one year after St-Pierre. While Masvidal (35-16) is “one of one” as the BMF champion, the 38-year-old has yet to win undisputed UFC gold. St-Pierre, on the other hand, was a two-time welterweight champion, one-time middleweight champion, and defended the welterweight title nine times.

Despite never facing “GSP” in a fight, Sonnen had opportunities throughout his career to get familiar with the Canadian icon’s skills firsthand. Simply put, Sonnen feels the MMA mathematics in this case were stretched beyond a point of reason.

“Nowhere in life does that math work where you’re gonna tell somebody about this guy,” Sonnen said. “Go ahead. Tell them about this guy, it’s what the topic is. No, instead you talk about these guys. And your commentary rationale of these guys somehow equates to this guy. What?

“I know who the best fighter is. I can’t prove this, I don’t need to be a d*** about it, but I’ve been in there with them all. I know you’re not supposed to tell practice room stories, but if it didn’t go your way in the practice room the rules are different and you can tell the story. Georges is the best. That’s your answer. Ever.

“What kind of divisible are you going to put in when Georges goes out there and dominates a wrestling champion like Josh Koscheck?” he continued. “Or knocks out a world champion like Matt Hughes? Or passes the guard of a jiu-jitsu ace like Nick Diaz? What kind of equation are you putting into the gap? Which 170-pounder do you believe can take Georges St-Pierre down? What 170-pounder out there do you believe Georges cannot take down? Let’s just start with that. You cannot deduce one entity by drawing a conclusion to others, and if you do it, we should dismiss you. And we should tell the kids in the backseat, ‘That guy is on drugs.’”

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Tenure. Manager: Holly Holm inked new 6-fight deal ahead of UFC San Antonio, title shot expected with ‘1 or 2 more wins.’

Departure. Fabricio Werdum no longer under contract with the PFL.

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VIDEO STEW

The MMA Hour.

UFC 287 Trailer.

Holly’s epic moment.

RIZIN Confessions 118.

CCC on Vera vs. Sandhagen.

Bisping’s Top 5 UFC Comebacks.

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LISTEN UP

No Bets Barred. MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and Conner Burks discuss if Marlon Vera can keep things rolling against Cory Sandhagen at UFC San Antonio.

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MORNING MUSIC

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Props.

Agro dog.

Squad.

Progress.

Countdown.

Mullet mayhem.

Sig.

Bows.

Perhaps...

A man of many styles.

Warmaster.

Who?

Throwback.

Unnecessary.

Viva la Mexico.

Frenemies!

Atta boy.

Starboy.

Oh, this is a dangerous pairing.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Only one way to settle this. St-Pierre vs. Masvidal after UFC 287 no matter the Gilbert Burns result. Thanks a lot, Rogan.

Thanks for reading!

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EXIT POLL

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