Chael Sonnen claims UFC has verbal agreement between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall
Chael Sonnen claims that Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall is all but a done deal.
For over a year, one of the biggest stories in MMA is the potential fight between UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and whether it will happen at all. Well, according to UFC Hall of Famer Chael Sonnen, it’s no longer a question of if, but when.
“Alex Pereira was one of the most interesting men we have in our sport because he was going to be used as a pawn on the chessboard to get Aspinall vs. Jones together,” Sonnen told Submission Radio recently. “If Jon Jones kept holding out, that opportunity was merely going to slot to Alex Pereira. Pereira vs. Aspinall is one hell of a consolation prize if you can’t get Jones vs. Aspinall. ...
“They got a deal done with Jon Jones and Aspinall, at least verbally, the night before — this is inside information, you will not have heard this story anywhere else — they got a deal done verbally the night before Pereira vs. Ankalaev.”
Sonnen’s claims seem to support recent comments from UFC CEO Dana White who told TNT Sports recently that the bout is “just a matter of when now, getting it signed and done” as well as comments from Aspinall that he is “very optimistic” about the matchup. But despite all this optimism, nothing has been made official yet, perhaps because, as rumor has it, Jones wants six months to prepare for the bout. Or, according to Sonnen, Jones simply backed himself into a corner.
“I will tell you one thing: Jon Jones wants six months, I don’t believe Jon meant it when he said it,” Sonnen said. “I don’t think Jon ever knew this was going to be a statement he could make that would then stick around for three weeks and everybody would be bouncing this back and forth. I don’t think he really meant it.
“I know when Jon sat down at the table and the very first time he ever spoke about Tom Aspinall he said, ‘I need $30 million,’ he didn’t mean that. They were just words and then they ended up sticking. ... He didn’t actually mean it. He didn’t mean that he needs six months, but now they put him in the position where he almost has to demand that he gets six months because it’s been so big. ...
“One thing about it though, go get your money. The money doesn’t change. Get it as quick as you can and get done. The only thing that putting six months between Jon and Tom will do — and I don’t know who wins between those boys. There’s a reason they walk out there and do the actual fight. Nothing will change though. If they fight tonight, if they fight in Madison Square Garden in November, if they fight in the street in a month, if they fight in six days, six weeks, six months, or six years, whoever is better will win. 100 percent of the time.”
Earlier this year, Dana White suggested the fight could take place this summer, which would not mesh with Jones’s rumored six-month demand. However, as Sonnen points out, if this is all true, it would line up well for Jones to take yet another trip to The Big Apple when the UFC makes its yearly pilgrimage there this fall.
“Yes, I do,” Sonnen said when asked if he believes the fight will happen this year. “I’m going to predict November, New York. That’s not an inside scoop, by the way. I just know in November they’re playing New York, in December they’re playing Vegas. That’s a massive fight. Maybe you take it to the fight capital of the world. Maybe. Or maybe you take it to the venue that’s produced your largest live gate in history. I guess we’ll see how that whole thing plays out.”