“Not scared of anybody” - Chael Sonnen discloses the ‘inside scoop’ on Jon Jones’ response to the UFC’s Sergei Pavlovich fight offer
Chael Sonnen recently revealed Jon Jones' response to an offer to fight Sergei Pavlovich.
While speaking to MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn, Sonnen shared his thoughts on Jones and whether he is hesitant about fighting the surging heavyweight. He complimented the heavyweight champion on being brave enough to face any fighter.
Sonnen said:
"I'll give you some inside scoop...They [UFC] didn't know they were gonna get Stipe [Miocic] and Jon Jones was asked, 'Will you fight Sergei Pavlovich?',...And he said, 'Yes.' Jon Jones is not scared of anybody and I don't love Jon Jones but I will tell the story the way it happened and to make believe that Jon Jones is scared to fight somebody is false."
"Jon Jones is not scared of anybody": @ChaelSonnen gives an "inside scoop" on Jones vs. Sergei Pavlovich followed by a rare compliment.
@MikeBohn's story: tinyurl.com/ChaelJones pic.twitter.com/GVDt9OSLC2
'The American Gangster' also brought up that he doesn't believe that 'Bones' will retire should he defeat Miocic. Sonnen mentioned that he believes it's a poor marketing tactic that will backfire, saying:
"I don't say that to be a d*ck, he does not have enough money to retire, so no, there's no question and the whole retirement angle is terrible. All you do is alienate fans...moreover, when you do the big, 'I'm back!', now you're liar, and it's a weird thing to do, it's not great marketing."
It remains to be seen whether Sonnen's prediction about Jon Jones continuing to fight after UFC 295 will be correct.
Chael Sonnen believes the UFC should book Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland
Chael Sonnen weighed in on the middleweight title situation regarding the challenger Israel Adesanya for his title at UFC 293.
During the aforementioned interview, Sonnen questioned the promotion of being against the Adesanya vs. Strickland fight despite the willingness from both competitors. The 46-year-old mentioned that he believes that 'Izzy' has earned the right to call his shot, saying:
"He [Adesanya] is owed some favors, for sure. He has done everything they ever asked from him. They asked him to fight [Dricus] du Plessis, he said, 'Yes', just by example. They asked him to fight in Australia, he said, 'Yes'...He always says yes and if this is one that he wants, that could change things for Sean [Strickland]." [20:47 - 21:02]
Check out the full interview: