Chael Sonnen was a fighter renowend for his trash-talk, but even he confesses that one man rendered him terrified.
After watching footage of this icon, ‘The American Gangster’ realized claiming a victory might be a bridge too far.
Chael Sonnen was afraid to fight Jon Jones
On April 27, 2013, at UFC 159, inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, USA, Chael Sonnen went to war with Jon Jones.
The major contest marked the Oregon brawler’s third attempt at the promotion’s world title, making it one of the biggest fights of his career.
Alas, the naturally bigger man was far too good, dominating Sonnen en route to claiming a first-round stoppage.
Perhaps part of the reason behind the icon’s demise was that he never really believed he could win in the first place.
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When asked during an interview with Flagrant, whether he was ever scared of an opponent, the 47-year-old said: “Yes. There’s been some times I’ve left the locker room and felt like a lamb. I did not think I was going to beat Jon the night I fought him.
“That was just a hard one, where I just watched him and thought, ‘Man, that guy is good’.
“It was ok to look up to Jon, and it was ok to admire Jon because I was in a different weight class. I was a 185-pounder and he was a 205-pounder, I’m 32-years-old, I’m never going to see this guy.
“So, to sit and admire and see him catch legs and spin to elbows, see him do uppercuts into flying knees, and try and copy and emulate that stuff, I was safe because I’m never going to deal with him.
“All of a sudden, I’m a 205-pounder, they got me in a world title fight, here we are on The Ultimate Fighter, now, I’m walking out to fight Jon Jones.”
‘He hit me so hard it was like a missile’… Chael Sonnen reveals the one opponent that really made him ‘mad’
Jones isn’t the only legend Sonnen has gone toe-to-toe with in his career, with the charismatic competitor having shared the cage with the best of the best.
And during a fight with one of the greatest to ever do it, the American felt power like no other.
He’s claimed that the dynamite in this icon’s hands was so explosive it left him ‘mad’.
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