Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen beef: every time the arch-rivals went to war on social media
Eight years after their UFC 159 clash, bad blood is still brewing between Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen.
'The American Gangster' reignited his rivalry with Jon Jones when he made fun of 'Bones' for a tweet he posted this past weekend. The former UFC light heavyweight champion posted a cryptic message, saying he's "giving birth to something big" this year.
Jon Jones fired back by sending a series of now-deleted tweets. 'Bones' brought up their light heavyweight bout in 2013 and accused Sonnen of living in his shadow. The back-and-forth became personal as Jon Jones hurled insults at his rival's wife while Sonnen brought up Jones' previous drug addiction issues.
This isn't the first time Jones and Sonnen have engaged in an ugly social media war. The arch-rivals have been sniping at each other on Twitter in recent years, with Sonnen usually instigating the arguments.
Jon Jones calls Chael Sonnen a "known steroid user" (November 2020)
Jon Jones was entangled in a social media feud against Daniel Cormier when he sideswiped Chael Sonnen in one of his comments on Twitter.
Sonnen, who ended his MMA career in 2019, spent over a year out of action between 2010 and 2012 due to a suspension for banned substances. The former UFC middleweight title challenger disputed his punishment but to no avail.
But of course, Sonnen is not the type to back away from verbal battles online. He retaliated by bringing up Jones' run-in with the law and questioned the former light heavyweight champ's integrity.
Sonnen’s tweets were in reference to an incident involving Jones and a car burglar. The video in question saw Jon apprehend a man attempting to break into his vehicle. But Chael Sonnen believes that Jones' heroic deed was merely a stunt.
A subtle war of words (May 2020)
Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen have been at war for so long that they've gotten good at it. The pair were able to throw shade at each other without mentioning one another's names.
The clash began when Sonnen discussed how he thought a potential bout between Jones and Francis Ngannou would play out. 'Bones' insinuated that Sonnen had been using his name to gain attention on YouTube.
After the initial attack, 'The American Gangster' countered with several comments about Jones' problems outside the cage:
Jones was arrested on charges of DWI, negligent use of a deadly weapon, and possession of an open container last March, TMZ Sports reported. Anaheim authorities reportedly responded to a complaint about gunshots and found the UFC superstar with a handgun and a bottle of liquor in his vehicle.
Jones also had a DUI arrest in 2012 and received probation for a hit-and-run in 2015.
Jon Jones takes aim at Chael Sonnen's analysis (August 2019)
'Bones' was never a fan of Chael Sonnen's analysis of his career. In 2019, Sonnen spoke at length on his podcast about Jones's future in the UFC. He said:
“I don’t think he realizes how quick that clock is winding down. He will not be the world champion at 35 years old. He absolutely will not be. He likely will not even be the main event or co-main event by 36 years old. By 37 years old, he will be fighting for his place in the sport. That’s just the way it goes.”
“You now have Israel Adesanya, just by example, coming up. Israel Adesanya is going to be the one that grabs the torch and moves that organization forward, for sure. He will become the biggest star and the talk will quickly be that he is the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Jones is getting replaced. Over time he’s going to have to move weight class if he wants to be remembered. He needs to expand, he needs to show on some level that he can go out there and compete with Cormier clean.”
The comments drew ire from Jones, who immediately jumped on Twitter to target his rival. In a couple of now-deleted tweets, 'Bones' wrote:
“I beat you in less than two minutes, obviously you’re going to have bogus things to say. I can see you in a barbershop at 75 talking about what it takes to be a champion & telling your made up Jon Jones stories, thanks for sharing your amazing imagination.”
“Got beat by a bunch of the best and somehow that makes you credible."
Jon Jones says Chael Sonnen fought like a child (August 2015)
In the lead-up to UFC 117, Chael Sonnen made some unsavory comments about Anderson Silva. Five years later, Jones brought up the issue after Sonnen posted a video about 'Bones.' In a series of now-deleted tweets, Jones wrote:
"[Chael Sonnen] the things you say about me hold absolutely no weight, you disrespected Anderson and his country but fought like a child."
"If you're going to disrespect me out of nowhere, at least disrespect me to my face like a man."
"And you call me a punk, I'm more man than you'll ever be. #Coward #Cheater"
Sonnen responded by saying:
"[Jon Jones] Oh I plan too. Btw, how long did it take your parents to come up with your name, JON JONES.. #creative."
"Advice to @jonnybones. Take some of that Nike money, hire new writers."
Evidently, the beef between the two stemmed from Jon Jones' multiple violations of USADA's anti-doping policy and Chael Sonnen's criticism of the same.
Right now, Chael Sonnen is retired while Jones is gearing up for a move to heavyweight. The two will never settle their beef in the octagon, but we can expect them to go at each other for many years to come.