For the entirety of his lengthy career, Chael Sonnen has never been knocked out in a fight. It is also the one thing that worries him as he prepares for his upcoming heavyweight fight against Quinton Jackson in two weeks.
“I have never been knocked out in my career,” Sonnen said in a pre-fight interview (via MMA Fighting). “I had never even been knocked down. In my last fight, I got knocked down by Wanderlei. It was a very scary feeling because I had no control.”
“His power worries me. Boom, that uppercut. Boom, that hook. He’s a mean guy,” he added. “Even when he looks like he’s not in shape, I’ve never seen the guy quit. If I could just find some video of him on Twitter somewhere [quitting], I’d feel better about it. He doesn’t quit and he’s gonna punch hard.”
With this issue in mind, “The American Gangster” feels he will have to rely on his strengths and bring the fight to the ground, in order to come out victorious.
“I don’t know if he’ll prepare as properly as I will, but he competes really well,” Sonnen said of Rampage. “He’s gonna show up and if I’m gonna beat him I have to stay on top of him for 15 minutes. Because sooner or later, he’s gonna land one of those shots
Sonnen and Jackson will kick-off Bellator’s eight-man heavyweight tournament at Bellator 192 on January 20th in Inglewood, California. The event will be headlined by a welterweight title fight between Douglas Lima and Rory MacDonald.