With just over a week remaining before Chael Sonnen and Jon Jones fight at UFC 159, the pair have taken their trash talking to another level. While some see the pre-fight chatter as foolish, it adds quite a bit of intrigue and hype for the fight.
The trash talking has heightened as Sonnen has decided to use his Twitter to provide a daily countdown to the fight. In some posts he’s talked himself up, while others have been directed at Jones.
Here are some of the best posts from Sonnen‘s countdown:
For the most part, the tweets aren’t very serious. Most are just general fluff with bits of humor, including Sonnen‘s incorrect use of hashtags.
Jones had a few things to say about them as reports have stated (via Yahoo! Sports):
I have seen some of Chael‘s countdown Twitter feed, but I think I stopped reading it at about day 27. It doesn’t fuel me anymore. It’s foolishness really.
While Jones denied that the tweets and trash talk have gotten to him, his recent statements regarding Sonnen bring this into question. Jones got involved in the media frenzy by bringing up steroids (via Yahoo! Sports):
Chael Sonnen is a guy, people know he’s done steroids throughout his entire career. Probably the reason why his testosterone is low now.
Sonnen‘s use of testosterone replacement therapy has been a hot-button issue in MMA. Regardless of whether or not fans agree with the treatment, the use of the word “steroids” is sure to bring about attention. In the age of performance-enhancing drugs, that’s a weighted-word.
With plenty of time before the actual fight, it will be interesting to see what Sonnen comes up with next in his countdown. Will he respond to Jones’ steroid quote? Will Jones engage in further trash talk?
While the extent of the dislike for each other can definitely be questioned, the perceived bad blood is great for the UFC and its fans. The more fans think the fighters dislike their opponent, the better. The constant chatter—including tweets—is a nice way to make fans anticipate the fight even more.
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