Chael Sonnen calls Sergei Pavlovich’s heavyweight domination a “Tyson-esque” blitz, commends Tom Aspinall for accepting short-notice title fight
Chael Sonnen has given his thoughts on the Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tom Aspinall bout, which is set to take place at UFC 295 in a couple of weeks' time.
Speaking to Oscar Willis of The Mac Life, Sonnen discussed the collapse of the planned heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones versus Stipe Miocic. The aforementioned Pavlovich vs. Aspinall replacement bout will be for the interim heavyweight title in lieu of Jones sustaining a pectoral injury.
Addressing the shift in heavyweight matchmaking for November 11 and speaking to Aspinall's perspective, Chael Sonnen said:
"[Aspinall said], 'I am not gonna bully Ciryl [Gane]. He knows why I was here. But I also know why he didn't call me out. He doesn't want the match. That's okay. I'm not gonna pick on him. I'll move on. I'll go fight Sergei Pavlovich.' Tom said it very calmly and he said it very sincerely.
"But he's also the only person to say that he would do the fight. Sergei has shut off six guys in the heavyweight division in the first round in a row. This is Mike Tyson-esque. You got to go back to the Mike Tyson days when Don King was finding homeless people to take a few bucks and keep their mouth shut and jump in there with Mike on Showtime."
See Sonnen's comments on the Aspinall vs. Pavlovich announcement below:
Chael Sonnen on Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic cancellation
Chael Sonnen also took to social media via his personal X page to offer up commentary on the Jones versus Miocic bout falling through.
'The American Gangster' did this by referencing his UFC light heavyweight title bid against Jon Jones, during which the then-champion's toe was severely damaged amid garnering a TKO win over Sonnen.
Also in speaking to The Mac Life, Chael Sonnen said, "There’s nobody that’s going to be clamoring to see those geriatrics at that point and then make believe it’s for the belt."
With that in mind, it looks like the former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger sees Pavlovich vs. Aspinall as a more legitimate heavyweight title bout than the scrapped Jones versus Miocic clash.