Chael Sonnen paid for a fighter’s weight miss by the pound on the latest season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter‘.
The UFC’s reality TV show ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ has run for 33 seasons, with UFC stars Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen returning to the series as coaches for season 33.
History was made on one of the most recent episodes as Ireland’s Andreeas Binder (10-2) was allowed to compete on the show, despite a 5-lb weight miss.
In the past, fighters who have missed weight have their fights cancelled—but not Binder. Coach Sonnen had his back, negotiating $12,500 in compensation to Binder’s opponent Jeff Creighton to accept the fight. That’s $2,500 per pound.
Unfortunately, the fight wouldn’t go Binder’s way after a strong start in round 1 where he hurt Creighton with strikes. Binder ultimately lost via majority decision, thinking they’d enter a third round to break a tie.
Bloody Elbow caught up with Andreeas Binder for an interview following his time on the show.
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Andreeas Binder says he’ll repay Chael Sonnen with a KO on Contender Series or UFC
Binder says his body went into shock during the weight cut, saying it wouldn’t have happened if he were to fight on week 2 as he had planned.
Binder was asked what it was like for Sonnen to spot his weight miss, granting the Irish prospect the unprecedented opportunity to compete.
“Chael is a straight-up gangster,” Binder told Bloody Elbow.
“He’s been really looking after the team. He was really involved with the team. He was there every single session.
“He had a lot of hopes for me. He said it himself—he thought I was gonna win this season. But it just wasn’t the case,” Binder said.
“Hopefully, we can run this back on a UFC card or a Contender Series or whatever it is, myself and Jeff. And I’ll repay Chael with a knockout,” Binder suggested a rematch with Creighton.
Andreeas Binder says he was ‘very close’ to finding finish on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’
Binder fought Creighton on TUF 33, episode 4, ‘Blood and Business’.
Binder got Creighton’s attention with multiple punches in round 1, landing nasty ground and pound from the top position.
The momentum started to shift after Creighton opened up a cut at the end of round 1, bloodying Binder for a dominant round 2.
“It was very close,” Binder said of how close he was to finding a finish in round 1.
“I wobbled him with a left hook.
“I think it was the fact that I fought in front of Dana, and it was the first time not fighting in front of fans and my close friends and family. So, I kinda rushed it a bit too much.”
Binder continued.
“But I wobbled him on the feet with my left hook, if I remember correctly. Then I caught him again with an overhand right. There were so many positions where I should have been more patient instead of rushing into it. I saw him hurt. I saw him wobble. I saw him stumble a little bit.
“So I thought, now is my time. Instead of sitting back a little bit, picking my shots, and I would have put him away. Fair play to Jeff. He recovered well. He fought hard, came back, and he won the second round.
“But he knows. I know. Everyone knows—there should have been a third round,” Binder said.