Chael Sonnen believes he has the inside scoop on Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall.
Talks for the heavyweight unification bout have been going on since last November.
Perceived hesitation from Jon Jones has led to a petition to strip him of his UFC title.
Tom Aspinall recently claimed ‘Bones’ is retired from MMA – but Chael Sonnen finds it hard to believe that the greatest fighter of all time would leave such an astronomically high payday on the table.
Chael Sonnen reveals $12 million offer
The former UFC contender-turned-analyst leaked Jon Jones’ potential fight purse on Wednesday.
Sonnen claims the American asked for a $12 million guarantee, which the UFC are happy to give him.
‘The Bad Guy’ says that will see Jones outearn a bunch of the biggest stars in MMA history.
“I don’t believe Jon Jones has turned down this fight,” Sonnen insisted in a video shared to his YouTube channel.
“Whatever that number was, and I believe to be $12 million, in case you’re interested. Got my own sources.
“The UFC said, ‘Okay’. Jon’s check at the end of the night will be the biggest check he’s ever got.
“It will be the biggest check anyone has ever got from the UFC. It will beat out [Brock] Lesnar, it will beat out Georges [St-Pierre]. Ronda Rousey’s weren’t as big as they embellished, it will crush hers.”
Tom Aspinall is moving on?
Tom Aspinall claims he’s got a date and location to face someone else after ‘retiring’ Jon Jones.
24 hours later on from sending MMA fans into a frenzy with his comments, he doubled down on them.
“I want to keep my job, so I don’t want to say too much, but I said what I’ve said in other interviews and stuff,” Aspinall told The Independent on Wednesday. “People think I’m joking, but it’s the truth.
“I’m not the kind of guy to pull any media stunts or anything like that, like… What I’m saying is the truth.”
The interim champion added that his next fight “will be announced pretty soon as far as I’m aware.”
Who will he face? It’s currently unclear, as the heavyweight division is worryingly shallow right now.