Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen is convinced middleweight champion Israel Adesanya would “whip” 205lb king Jon Jones if they ever fought.
Sonnen gave his thoughts on the potential super fight which has been hyped by the two champions engaging in trash talk online over the past several months. Speaking to Submission Radio Sonnen says Adesanya will pick up his first win outside of the cage by ripping Jones apart during the pre-fight press conferences and throughout fight week, he said.
“I will tell you, Adesanya brings a fire. I mean, there’s a venom. He practices, he’s rehearsed. Jon Jones is not ready for press conferences. And a lot of guys see a dishonour in that, that you should just freestyle and answer the questions that are asked of you. Man, it is no different than any other job interview or any test I’ve ever gone to in my life. If I know it’s test day, I’m gonna study for the test. Adesanya studies for the test. He doesn’t answer the question asked of him, he waits until your mouth’s done moving and then he says whatever the hell he wants. Jon Jones answers questions. Good ones don’t answer questions, they handle questions.”
Once fight night actually arrives Sonnen expects it to be something of a mismatch with Adesanya emerging victorious – especially after Jones’ last two performances, he said. “Oh, forget it, Adesanya will whip his ass.”
“Do you think Thiago Santos beats Adesanya? Or do you think that Dominick Reyes beats Adesanya? I mean, these were really close matches for Jon Jones. I thought he lost both of them. On the 10-9 must system, I thought he lost to Santos too. I’m not bullish on that. I’m not even bullish on the Reyes one. Those were just my opinions. I think that ship has sailed. I think Jon’s tough, I don’t think he’s the greatest of all time. I think that’s Georges St-Pierre. But I do think that Jon Jones would have an argument to the toughest of all time. To watch his grit, to watch Jon Jones seeing everything, slip away, and he finds a way to get victory anyway, he finds a way to push through, Jon gets a lot of credit with me. I just think when you’re comparing him to Adesanya, Adesanya’s one. Jones is in a good spot, but he’s still number one.”
Do you agree with Chael Sonnen? Would Israel Adesanya beat Jon Jones?