Jon Jones believes Chael Sonnen lacks “a champion’s soul.” Apparently that has more to do with the fact that the former middleweight No. 1 contender has come up short numerous times.
Jones, who had earlier this month criticized his upcoming UFC 159 opponent for his failure to step up in past championship bouts, went further Tuesday in an appearance on FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight,” telling co-host Dominick Cruz that he believes Sonnen was a longtime steroid user.
“Chael Sonnen’s a guy who, people know he’s been on steroids throughout his whole career,” Jones said. “That’s probably why his testosterone level is low now. I don’t think that’s the heart and attitude of a champion. So that’s what I meant when I said he lacks championship soul.”
Although Sonnen has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in his MMA career, he was suspended for a failed drug test that showed elevated testosterone following his August 2010 bout with Anderson Silva. Sonnen appealed, saying he had received an exemption for testosterone replacement therapy, but he was still given a six-month suspension for not properly disclosing the TRT usage. So while some may have thought he may have taken steroids in the past, Jones is the first to come out and straight out accuse him of it.
What’s particularly interesting is the fact that Sonnen has usually been the trash-talker. Part of the reason he is getting a shot at Jones’ title in his light-heavyweight debut — while coming off a loss to the middleweight champion Silva in a rematch last July — is the fact that he can promote fights with his “fightin’ words.” He was placed as a coach in The Ultimate Fighter opposite Jones as the UFC believed it would be a ratings bonanza.
The TUF 17 reality show was indeed a success, but that was more to do with the performances of the fighters than any war of words between the coaches. And while Sonnen has been relatively tame in his tongue-lashings, Jones has been the more vocal one between them lately.
And then there was an appearance on Saturday night’s TUF 17 finale, where both Jones and Sonnen were interviewed cageside by commentator Jon Anik. While Sonnen had respectful things to say about the champion, Jones would not even look at Sonnen and simply walked away before Anik had finished talking, leaving Anik and Sonnen awkwardly standing there and leading Sonnen to even ask Anik just before the camera pulled away, “Am I supposed to walk away, now?” Jones has made it clear in the past he didn’t think Sonnen deserved the title shot in the first place, but it seems he could have shown his fellow competitor a little more respect.
The two will meet on April 27 in the main event of UFC 159 in Newark, N.J., and Jones was also asked Tuesday about the skills that Sonnen may bring to the cage.
“I’m really not concerned extremely with Chael’s gifts,” Jones said. “He’s an awesome fighter. He’s pretty good at boxing, he loves his wrestling and his been pretty successful in his wrestling. He has pretty good ground and pound and I just familiarized myself with the whole thing and what I’m getting ready to face. I wouldn’t say there’s any one thing that concerns me.”
An elite-level collegiate wrestler and professional mixed martial artist, Sonnen has never been able to reach the peak in any major competitions, coming second in NCAA Division 1 finals and losing three title fights in the WEC and UFC.
Jones meanwhile became the youngest champion in UFC history when he defeated Mauricio (Shogun) Rua in March 2011 at the age of 23.