While respected UFC veterans like Rashad Evans and Ryan Bader have openly talked about what a great chance Anthony "Rumble" Johnson has to upset Jon Jones when they meet for Jones' UFC light heavyweight title, fighter-turned-commentator Chael Sonnen is going the other way.
Sonnen, who lost to Jones at UFC 159 in 2013, didn't specifically say that Johnson would struggle against Jones. Instead he said anyone stepping into the Octagon should feel accomplished if they make the full five rounds.
"It's very unlikely that anybody is going to do too well with Jon Jones right now," Sonnen said. "The longer you stay out there with him is turning into a success. It's like the Mike Tyson days. If you could just get to Round 2 and 3 - and boy, if you make it to 5 - it's such a victory, morally. Jon Jones is the baddest dude walking the planet, and that's just the reality."
The latest, greatest test for Jones was expected to be Daniel Cormier, whom he fought at UFC 182 in January. Cormier was a converted heavyweight, who not only entered the Octagon undefeated-he had never lost a round before. Jones had a rough Round 2 in which he ate several hard uppercuts from Cormier, but eventually won via clear, unanimous decision.
Sonnen even put Jones in a class above Anderson "Spider" Silva, whom many hold up as the greatest mixed martial artist ever.
"I walked out there thinking I was going to beat this guy," Sonnen said. "I had my matches with Anderson, and Anderson won them, but I whipped him. He won like the last three seconds of the fight and won the fight. So I went in there with a bunch of confidence against Jon Jones. I trained right - everything was perfect. Man, it must have been 30 seconds in when I realized when this is a whole other deal. He felt like he weighed 300 pounds.
"When he put his hands on me and pushed me up against the fence, it was like a Volvo against a Mack truck."
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