Former UFC middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen believes that Tyron Woodley is actually a “really hard fight” for Israel Adesanya.

Woodley and Adesanya is a surprising rivalry that has seemingly come out of nowhere to take over the headlines of MMA websites in the last few weeks. The former UFC welterweight champion Woodley is interested in moving up to middleweight to take on Adesanya, who has had his own choice words to say about “The Chosen One.” This is a rivalry that no one saw coming considering both men are in different weight classes.

Speaking to Submission Radio recently, Sonnen spoke about a potential Adesanya vs. Woodley matchup. Giving his take on the clash of styles between the two, Sonnen believes that Woodley is actually a tough matchup for Adesanya, seeing the weight difference in a different light than others.

“That’s actually a really hard fight for Adesanya. I mean it really is. The hardest guy to fight is the guy one weight class below you,” Sonnen said (via Essentially Sports).

“He’s just a little bit quicker than what you are used to and he can go a little bit longer. Because he’s lighter and he doesn’t get tired quite as fast.”

The early sentiment about the fight by fans and media on social media has been that Adesanya would win this matchup against Woodley just bad on size and reach alone. There’s no doubt Adesanya would likely be an overwhelming betting favorite if the UFC books the matchup given his unbeaten record and physical advantages.

But it’s certainly a fair point made by Sonnen that a size disadvantage often means a speed advantage that could benefit the smaller man. It’s something that even benefited Sonnen from later in his career when he moved up to light heavyweight and later heavyweight and still won some fights despite being a career middleweight. Will it work for Woodley? We won’t know unless we get to see the fight play out in the cage.

Do you agree with Chael Sonnen that Tyron Woodley would be a tough matchup for Israel Adesanya?