We agree with Uncle Chael.
Chael Sonnen says some things that are funny, hard truths, and occasionally both. He was asked by a fan if he thought Tito Ortiz was the most delusional fighter he has ever met. He made some good points.
Tito is constantly reminding everyone he was the UFC Light heavyweight champion which he was. No one is disputing that fact. What Chael makes note of is that the UFC back then is far different than the UFC of today. Being the champ before the boom period where the company wasn’t the juggernaut it is today. The level of competition wasn’t the same.
He asks why Murilo Bustamante and Carlos Newton aren’t still telling the world that they were world champions. They were champs when training wasn’t dialed in, there were fewer real contenders, and Sonnen says that the organization was almost on a regional level. He does give Tito permission to call himself world champion, though. That means something.
It’s better if we aren’t paraphrasing The Bad Guy. We invite you to hear it all directly from him.