Chael Sonnen is making some big proclamations regarding a potential Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall heavyweight title unification match.
Jones vs. Aspinall has been the match to make for over a year now, but negotiations have been underway for months with UFC saying it’s gonna happen and Jones sounding like maybe it’s not. Aspinall, for his part, has been not-so-patiently waiting for “Bones” to sign on the dotted line or vacate.
Well, according to Chael Sonnen on the latest episode of ESPN’s Good Guy / Bad Guy, the fight is locked in.
“I am confident enough to tell you that that fight is done, that fight is agreed all the way down to the date,” Sonnen claimed. “That, I do have the confidence to tell you.”
For a man so certain that there was a date locked, he hedged on when it might happen.
“International Fight Week would make perfect sense,” Sonnen said. “But in my heart I always thought they were going to go back to New York.”
That would be November for Madison Square Garden, which has been where the UFC has planned to deploy Jones for the past two years. Asked about Jon’s demands in the media including six months to prepare, Chael scoffed.
“I’m telling you, this Jon Jones business? Jones will say a lot of things to the media,” Sonnen said. “When he gets that phone call, ‘Here’s the guy you’re fighting, do you understand?’ ‘Yes.’ And that is what he will say. All the other reports are not true. Jon has come out, he’s been a troll, he’s had some fun, he’s even tried to negotiate through the media.”
“Jon Jones has not ducked this fight. I wish he did, I’d love to bury him. but he didn’t. He did not duck Tom Aspinall.”
As always, we’d like to remind everyone that Chael Sonnen has a unique history of being right about Jon Jones news, but has also never let the truth get in the way of a good story. We’ll keep you posted as we work to confirm the UFC’s plans for UFC 317 at International Fight Week and beyond.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
