Chael Sonnen thinks Leon Edwards has a confidence issue.

Edwards (22-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) will look to snap a two-fight losing skid when he takes on Carlos Prates (22-7 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 322 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+/FX, ESPN+) main card at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Edwards lost his welterweight title to Belal Muhammad, then was dominated in a submission loss to Sean Brady at UFC Fight Night 255. Sonnen still believes in Edwards, but would like to see him believe in himself first.

“Here’s the problem with Leon, and it’s been the problem his entire life: He doesn’t know how good he is,” Sonnen told TNT Sports. “Leon has been the best fighter in the UFC for years. Now, he had the world title and he could have kept that eight times longer. There was nobody more surprised the night the head kick was heard around the world when he captured the world title than him. He didn’t think he was going to beat Kamaru Usman that night. Leon Edwards is so good. He didn’t think he was going to beat Belal, which is why he didn’t beat Belal.

“He could have won that fight. I mean, Leon is so good. I feel it goes back to his youth, that maybe he didn’t have a support system that told him, ‘Hey, good job,’ because he does not know how good he is. He’s amongst the greats ever. He is the greatest 170-pounder right now. He’s much better than Prates, but I can’t guarantee you he’s going to win the fight. He already knows. He knows when he gets to the locker room, ‘Am I going to win tonight or not?’ I guess we’d have to ask him, but if he goes and puts his skills against anybody else’s, he wins. He’s the best.”

Edwards reacted to Sonnen’s comments.

“I obviously believe in myself, that goes without saying,” Edwards responded in an interview with TNT Sports. “That’s not even a question. I definitely know how good I am, 100 percent. Mixed martial arts, all it is just what have you done for me lately. That’s all it is. That’s the game, right? When I go out there and I smoke Carlos, then they’ll be like, ‘Oh.’ Just the way the sport is. A loss doesn’t define me. I truly believe that I will be world champion again, and Saturday night, it starts there.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 322: Chael Sonnen surprisingly gives Leon Edwards high praise