Chael Sonnen recently confirmed that Jon Jones passed on the chance to fight Daniel Cormier, instead favoring ex-middleweight champion Rockhold in an upcoming wrestling match.
Jones is currently prevented from competing in UFC, due to testing positive for banned substances in August 2016. Jones is due back to the octagon in late 2017, but has recently been involved in a grappling match with UFC legend Dan Henderson. Jones emerged victorious, and has been the subject of a number of subsequent challenges as a result.
Recently, Conor McGregor training partner Dillon Danis offered to take on “Bones”. Frank Mir and Vinny Magalhaes have also publicly challenged the ex-light heavyweight champion to a wrestling fixture. Chael Sonnen appeared on the [ex-UFC heavyweight] Brendan Schaub co-hosted ‘Fighter & The Kid,’, where he confirmed Jones is set for a grappling match with Rockhold:
“Jon Jones is working on a deal right now. Jon is likely to return, but his likely opponent is Luke Rockhold. Rockhold can grapple, (Daniel) Cormier wanted that fight too, but Jon Jones said no. He wants to save (Cormier) for his UFC comeback where he can use all his tools. Vinny Magalhaes wanted the fight too, and we really wanted him to take that fight. If he fought Vinny, it would be (Jones’) first fight in ten years that he should lose.”
It will be interesting to see how the lighter Rockhold fares against his younger, and heavier counterpart.
