Chael Sonnen has responded to Jon Jones refusing to be interviewed by him post-UFC 232.
Sonnen and Jones have a history. While Sonnen delivered a heap of trash talk to get his UFC 159 bout against Jones, the two became chummy as opposing coaches of The Ultimate Fighter. Fast forward to 2019 and the two aren’t on great terms.
Sonnen Responds To Jones
Sonnen and Ariel Helwani were set to interview Jones after his UFC 232 victory over Alexander Gustafsson. On air, Jones requested that he only be interviewed by Ariel Helwani. Sonnen obliged and Helwani went at it alone. Sonnen took to his YouTube channel to respond to Jones (via MMA Weekly):
“What Jon is used to is getting into a battle of wits with me, and then I make him look like a horse’s ass. So I could see where he would not want to do that, plus he was getting asked very tough questions and I understood the language. The media that were asking the questions didn’t even know what a picogram was, they didn’t know what Turinabol was, they didn’t understand half-life, they didn’t understand the testing process — so I think he might have had a fear that I was going to do that to him.
“Now he would have been wrong. I would not have done that to him. Not in that role. I am there for ESPN, I am on the clock, if you will, and this is his moment. But he doesn’t know that. I couldn’t fault him for that, and I don’t. I don’t hold a grudge that he did it. I thought it was very rude. I thought it was rude to come onto a show and then not take questions from the host of the show.”
Was Jon Jones right to request that Chael Sonnen not be part of his post-UFC 232 interview?
