Chael Sonnen doubts that UFC star Jon Jones gained 15 lbs of muscle by 'deadlifting in his garage'
Former UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen has some doubts about Jon Jones' recent muscle gains.
Jon Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, has been putting in a lot of work in the gym, lifting heavy in preparation for his move up to the heavyweight division.
According to a recent Instagram post, the former Jon Jones is now up to 240-pounds, and 'should be ready in the next few months'.
Sonnen however, has some questions.
The former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title contender uploaded an eight-minute video on his YouTube channel, talking about Jon Jones gaining 15-pounds of muscle in just 12 weeks.
"I would have another question though, which I would be very interested in: If he weights 240-pounds, how did he get that way? There was a piece that I took in on YouTube, with Coach Greg [Doucette]…and he said there’s not a physiologist out there, there’s not anybody in the history of powerlifting or dieting that could explain how Jon Jones weighs 240-pounds and looks like that in three months, and I would tell you, as I’ve been lifting weights my whole life…and boy, gaining weight is as hard as losing weight, in some ways harder."
After going on a tangent about taking all kinds of protein and still having a hard time putting on weight, Sonnen marveled at how Jon Jones was able to do it:
"You cannot gain that kind of weight only in muscle. Your body would gain weight in every possible way - put on water weight, you could put on fat, you would put on some muscle but you’re gonna have to trim that down and hope that you have more muscle than fat, it’s one of those things, it simply can’t be done. But Jon put on 15 pounds of absolute steel, that can’t be done, according to physiology."
"Jon will be the first human in the history of the species to gain 15 pounds of muscle by doing deadlifts in his garage a couple times a day for three months," Sonnen continued.
Chael Sonnen says he isn't implying anything about Jon Jones' muscle gain
Given Chael Sonnen and Jon Jones' recent issues on social media, it does sound like the former is suggesting that the latter is doing something out of the ordinary.
Sonnen however clarified that he wasn't implying anything at all:
"Before any of you think I’m also now coming out and trying to hint a sign that Jon is back on the gas, he’s still on the pool. So physiology says you cannot gain 15 pounds of steel in 90 days, no matter what you’re doing, even if you have a poor work ethic like Jon, set that aside. Let’s say he worked out hard, physiology says you can’t do it. He’s not on the gas, he’s not. He’s in the pool, he’s falling in straight, you’ve got that caveat, unless he’s learned something new. A lot of guys have learned something new. The eye test when USADA got involved vs. the eye test today doesn’t pan out, and USADA knows that and USADA agrees with me on that But that’s not the way it works. The science has to catch up. I’m really not suggesting for you, even in a back-handed way, that Jon’s back to his old tricks. I’m not."
Sonnen in fact went on to 'praise' Jon Jones for being a one-of-a-kind athlete:
"Moreover, he’s just a very special athlete. It would be the first time, in the history of the human species that a guy could deadlift a few times in his garage and gain 15 pounds of muscle in 90 days."
Check out the full video below: