If it is somewhat like chess in mechanics, that's one thing.
What I mean is the "MMA grappling is like chess" or "Overwatch is like chess" or even "crypto day trading is like chess." What they mean is it's a big boy very serious very smart interest for big boy very serious very smart people.
I hate that, especially because I've recently noticed just how silly and chuddy the largest and loudest parts of the chess community, especially its fandom, really are. The pretenses of detached gravitas really ring hollow when some jerkoff like Kasparov runs his mouth about how he read The Gulag Archipelago and became enlightened.
Joe Rogan really popularized comparing MMA with Chess, but he would typically break that line out for the most boring-ass shitty fights to try to spin them in a positive light. Like, what kind of asshole actually wants to see a fight that reminds them of a fuckin' chess match? lol