UFC
Chael Sonnen calls Jon Jones a "delusional brat" after UFC 151 refusal
Aug 24, 2012 - 11:20:08 AM Chael Sonnen calls Jon Jones a "delusional brat" after UFC 151 refusal

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The opportunity that presented itself this week to Chael Sonnen was a no-lose situation. With Dan Henderson out, the beginnings of a feud with Jon Jones made him an option for a late notice title fight that he hadn't come close to earning, in a division he hadn't competed at in years.

There wasn't any risk to the matchup for him. Going in on eight day's notice and losing to Jones would have been expected. Losing badly, even, wouldn't have been held against him because it could be explained away to the lack of preparation time. But if he won, that's a whole other story. It would be one of the massive upsets in the sport's history, and forever cement him as a UFC Champion.

So of course he wanted that fight. Of course he was willing to come into it without any training camp whatsoever, just months after getting stopped by Anderson Silva in another title fight in another weight class. However, Jones turned him down, giving him something completely different: ammunition.

"When I decided to go after the light heavyweight championship, I knew that I'd win it like I always do," Sonnen said in an interview with Jonathan Snowden at BleacherReport.com. "I just didn't know it would be by forfeit. But I do stand before you today the light heavyweight champion."

"I don't know the mindset or who's around (Jones)," Sonnen continued. "I only know who's around me. Dan Henderson, Matt Lindland, Randy Couture. These are the guys who molded me not just physically, but mentally. They would fight anybody, any time, anywhere. Some people mean it when they say that. I'm from that same mold. I'd never disrespect those guys that gave so much to me by being the first one from our group to back down. And I never say that to sound like a tough guy. I say that because I think it's really important that you're never a bully in this sport. I hate them so much."

Indeed, Sonnen throws Jones into that pool of bullies, claiming he's always targeted guys who "pick and choose" who they decide to fight.

"I have this stigma of being a trash talker, but my only goal was to bring these bullies down," Sonnen said. "I never picked on anybody who wasn't No. 1 in the world. When I went after Wanderlei Silva, he had an aura around him that he couldn't be beat. When I went after Anderson (Silva), when I went after Paulo Filho, the Nogueira brothers, (Lyoto) Machida. If they were in my cross hairs, they were a No. 1 guy that everyone else was sidestepping.

"They are all a bunch of punks and bullies and I will never be one. The only litmus test I have for myself—am I willing to fight anybody? When the day comes that I won't fight somebody, I won't fight anybody. If there is someone out there that makes me go 'I'm not fighting him,' then I'm not going to fight anyone anymore.

"That's what bullies do. Bullies pick and choose who they get in fights with based on who they think they can beat. I will never, ever do that. When the day comes that I back down, I will quit this sport."

Sonnen joined in the ripping of Jones, and said Jones' best chance to beat him would have been next week at UFC 151 on short notice. Because now, according to Sonnen, when they eventually do meet, he'll be fully prepared for the fight.

"This was his biggest opportunity. There's no question I could beat Jon Jones," Sonnen said. "Jon Jones can beat me too. But I can beat him. If you ever wanted to stack the deck in his favor, you'd have done it on September 1. You'd have called me out of the blue, switched weight classes on me, put me on a plane to do a press tour, put me everywhere in the world except in the practice room. That was the opportunity he had. I could have beaten him, but he could have beaten me too."

"The next time we meet up, when I've had a camp and my coaches around me, that's not going to be the case. It's really important to win these fights, and the world saw me lose a fight. I fell down. I'm not going to fall down again."

"Jon Jones is a delusional brat," Sonnen finished. "He talks of being a businessman?! What?! What risks did he take? What capital did he raise? Where exactly is his office located? How many people does me employ? Hey JJ, put me on the phone with your secretary... Oh wait, what?"

Penick's Analysis: Ultimately, Jones' decision to refuse that fight, then stay silent for most of Thursday, allowed Sonnen and Dana White to control the narrative of the proceedings and paint him in the worst light possible. This wasn't about turning down a fight and picking and choosing opponents, this was about Jones not feeling prepared enough to defend his title against a new opponent on short notice, regardless of who it was. He agreed to fight anyone the UFC put in front of him on the next card, and that's what's happened as he'll be fighting Vitor Belfort at UFC 152. People have pointed to the fact that Sonnen hasn't been preparing for a fight, using that as ammunition against Jones because Sonnen would have been taking a huge risk. Well, he wouldn't have been taking any risk, outside of the physical harm he may have suffered against Jones. This wasn't a "risky" fight, it was an unbelievable opportunity he wouldn't have received were it not for the eight days' notice issue. That's not the same story for Jones, who would have been risking his hard-earned Championship on a fight he didn't feel prepared for. Dana White went off on Jones and said he was the only Champion to turn down a fight like this. Well, the UFC hasn't been in this situation with a title fight this close to an event. And the last time a main event fighter took a fight on shorter notice, Rick Story suffered a career-altering loss to Charlie Brenneman. There are consequences to taking a fight like what was proposed, and even if he would have likely won the fight, he was within his rights to turn it down.

[Chael Sonnen art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]