![Chael Sonnen (inset) comes out in defense of Imane Khelif (left) [Images courtesy: Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/08/bcd31-17227432896290-1920.jpg)
Former UFC two-division title challenger Chael Sonnen has offered his take on the controversy surrounding Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who is at the center of the gender eligibility storm at the ongoing Paris Olympics. Khelif recently got the better of Hungarian boxer Luca Anna Hamori in the quarterfinal of the 66kg category.
Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting’s inclusion in the 2024 Olympics became a case of thorough scrutiny. The two women were disqualified from the International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Championships in 2023 after reportedly failing a DNA test.
A large faction of the combat sports community promptly condemned them based on assumptions from the tests conducted by the IBA. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has cast doubts on the tests taken, calling the disqualifications “arbitrary.” Moreover, they claimed that Khelif was “born female, was registered female, (and) lived her life as a female.”
That said, there remains a sizable portion of fans who are persistently. attacking Khelif after she recently secured Algeria’s first boxing medal since 2000.
With all that in mind, Sonnen took to X to react to a post that claimed “two biological men will compete for Olympic Gold in women’s boxing.” He wrote:
“This is not accurate”
Furthermore, Sonnen also reacted to a video of Matt Schlapp, the former White House Political Director, who labeled the situation “outrageous.” ‘The American Gangster’ said:
“Matt, you got played. Delete this. The XY talk and the testing for such was misinformation.”
Check out the X posts below:
