It seems like Stephen A. Smith’s troubles are never-ending right now. Not just with LeBron James, but many fighters and fans from the MMA realm have begun trolling the TV personality. Smith’s beef with the MMA world began when he publicly expressed his disappointment at Donald Cerrone’s 40-second KO defeat against Conor McGregor at UFC 246. No doubt, the fight fans lashed out at the TV show host. But now, things seemed to get heated up with Chael Sonnen coming in to troll Smith.
On 27 March 2025, Smith attended the battle between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Indiana Pacers. During what seemed like a timeout, the TV personality took a courtside stroll, interacting with fans and other big guns present beside the court. This visual was shared by Hoops and the caption read, “Stephen a smith walking on the floor at games is comedy lol he really thinks all eyes are on him when he walks in look at bro.” Soon, the tweet landed in Chael Sonnen’s feed, and he was compelled to react to it. ‘The American Gangster’ decided to troll Smith and wrote, “That’s how a Gangster walks.” But why would Sonnen call anyone a gangster? Well, it seemed to be linked to Smith’s latest comments about James.
His beef with LeBron James began right after he made some comments about Bronny James, which pushed the Lakers’ star to threaten Smith. It was indeed a father defending his son. After all, Smith claimed that Bronny James was in the NBA because of his father. And after James lashed out at him, he took to his YouTube channel and released a video titled, “LeBron … the lies keep coming.”
Therein, Smith addressed the first altercation between him and James. He said, “Let me state for the record that while we bring up that, let me assure you it wouldn’t have gone down like that. I would have gotten my a— kicked, because had that man put his hands on me, I would have immediately swung on him. Immediately. That, I’m not gonna tolerate. But I knew he wasn’t going to do something like that. There was no fear in my mind about it. It was shock. Because as I have repeatedly stated, I was not talking about his son. I was talking about him.”
That’s how a Gangster walks. https://t.co/1BaGsLtsp7
— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) March 28, 2025
But let’s keep our focus on the MMA realm, and at the time when the entire fanbase was rallying against Smith. And unlike this time, Chael Sonnen stood in defense of the sports commentator. Let’s take a look at what it was all about.
Chael Sonnen once defended Stephen A. Smith from MMA world
Reacting to Conor McGregor’s epic win over Cerrone, Smith claimed that he was quite disgusted. He said, “I expected more than 40 seconds. I figured McGregor would handle business, but Cerrone didn’t even show up.” Of course, ‘The Notorious’ was on the rise back then, and the entire fighting realm rallied in his support. Netizens began blaming Smith for acting like an expert when he wasn’t closely associated with the sport. Nevertheless, Smith took a stronger stance and claimed that he was no expert on MMA. He was simply a fan. And whatever he said, were the words of a fan.
This notion was what ‘The Bad Guy’ seemed to support. He believed that it was actually the sports commentator who should receive apology from the MMA fans, and not the other way around. Sonnen said, “To act as though he’s not an MMA expert, he’s not pretending he is. To act as though the analysis he gave as a viewer, who witnessed something, he’s right. Nobody here was insulted. Somebody here was misinterpreted. That somebody is Stephen A. and many people owe him an apology.”
That wasn’t the only time Smith had a beef with the MMA world. In 2022, a parody video went viral, where Smith apparently claimed that he could send Joe Rogan to sleep with his right hand. Needless to say, the fighting community lashed out at the TV show host. And now, with his debacle against LeBron James, things are worsening for Smith.
What are your thoughts on Sonnen’s words for Stephen A. Smith? Do you think Smith should quickly resolve his differences with James? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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