Chael Sonnen went on ESPN Radio in Los Angeles with Max and Marcellus to talk about his willingness to face Jon Jones, UFC 152 and Vitor Belfort.
Quotes after the jump…
SBN coverage of UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson
SBN coverage of UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort
Transcribed by Sports Radio Interviews who has more from the interview.
On why he thinks Dana White called him:
Sonnen: “I think Dana just knew that he called the right guy. It’s just a matter of that. It was a situation where we could help each other. (Host: Dana called you, you didn’t volunteer?) No I didn’t know about it. Dan Henderson is a personal friend, very close and he did not say a word to me. I learned about this when everyone else did. Dana called up and said ‘hey do you want to fight next Saturday?’ My very first word to him was ‘who?’ I couldn’t think. ‘What do you need me for? You have this full card, you have Jones and Henderson and it just never crossed my mind.’ I didn’t know. Then he said ‘Jon Jones’ and I said ‘I’m your guy.”
Who he thinks he will fight next:
Sonnen: “I’ve got an agreement to fight a gentleman named Forrest Griffin on December 29th but I don’t know. Jon Jones has a date on September 22nd and right now he’s fighting Vitor Belfort. Vitor never shows up, Vitor has pulled out of way more fights than he has ever shown up for so if I had to guess you’ll be seeing me fight Jon Jones on September 22nd”
What he makes of Jones not fighting him:
Sonnen: “I don’t know. I hear what their side said and it was just mindboggling for me because it has never happened. He was within his rights to do it. Let’s not forget Jones had an agreement and he was ready to honor his side of the agreement but the agreement changed. The new deal he was presented with he didn’t agree to. That was still a surprise though. That’s just simply never happened, especially when you’re the champion. This whole short notice routine, that doesn’t apply to a guy that is coming off a ten week training camp. The short notice routine is for the guy that was sitting at home or had no idea there was a fight coming up. The change in opponent doesn’t count, it’s the change in the fight. If you don’t know there’s a fight then they notice. It didn’t make sense. Nothing added up that he pulled out. I don’t know. He doesn’t need to be scared of anybody.”
What he would say to Jones:
Sonnen: “If I was to tell Jon Jones something, I would tell him I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. Good news Jon the first punch that I throw at you might not land. The bad news is there are going to be five more coming right after it.”
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