Chael: Jones will be back sooner than you think

Former UFC contender, ESPN MMA analyst, and Gangster from Oregon Chael Sonnen recently spoke with Australia’s news.com about some of the controversial issues of the day, including Ronda Rousey vs. Chris Cyborg, and Jon Jones.

That fight is just a little bit ridiculous,” said Sonnen. “I don’t even think it’s fun to talk about. I could be missing the boat there. I hear people talking about it like they’ve got some excitement but I don’t know where that comes from.

Had they fought years ago back when Cyborg was really into the sport and she was competing at a really high level it still would have lasted about thirty-seconds. I don’t know where it all comes from, she can’t make the weight class, she’s never made the weight class, this is just the reality of that situation — that fight is never going to happen.

Sonnen also discussed former middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s failed PED tests, and his own.

I knew exactly what he was doing and he knew what I was doing, said Sonnen. You’ve got to understand, there’s a misconception that the UFC had a drug problem, the reality of it is that it had an age problem. The guys from my generation, things were different when we started, the rules were different, the rules changed over time and we did not change. We were set in our ways and we kinda said, this is how we’ve always done it and this is how we’re gonna keep doing it.

Was he wrong? Yeah. And why he keeps denying it I have no idea. This is a bulletproof test, if it says it’s in your system, it’s in your system. That’s the end of it. The medicines change all the time, what guys take changes on a daily basis. You have to understand, Anderson is not my friend. We are enemies and we always will be, but even from the stance of his enemy he gets a full pass. He had a leg that was snapped in two, he had, not only every moral right but he had an obligation to heal his leg and if he had to turn to the free market or black market for that, he gets a full pass from me.

Now, that doesn’t mean he can go out and fight, if he’s got something like that in his system still, that disqualifies him from participating in a fight. You can’t combine the medicine and the athletic competition. But, just looking at the medication side of things he had every right to do that and if he took something that healed a leg that snapped in two he should tell us what it is, he should help science and help medicine and tell us all what he did, it’s miraculous. I don’t know why he’s so embarrassed and so ashamed, it was in his system, that’s without question, he fought – you can’t do that, that’s where the apologies need to end. As far as taking something to fix his leg? Good for you Anderson.

Sonnen also discussed former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who was stripped of his title, after Jones’ arrest for leaving an accident involving personal injuries; the felony charge has a penalty of up to three years in prison.

I think Jon Jones is gonna be back a lot sooner than you think, said Sonnen. He’s still got to get through a court date and anything could happen there — including jail time. If he gets jail time that just kicks the can down the road farther as far as his return. He’ll definitely be back and he will be champion again.

He’s a young guy that behaves as a young guy. Some people get success and they change, I don’t know that he’s changed. He was behaving like a knucklehead before he was champion and he behaves like a knucklehead now. He’s a young guy and I think a little bit needs to be considered there. He’s a fist-fighter, he fights inside a steel cage I’m not totally sure all that’s expected of him, and why? He’s a very nice guy and that story never gets told, it seems like whenever he does something bad there’s always a camera around him but when he does something nice it just goes unnoticed. I know him pretty well and he’s a nice guy — he just behaves like a knucklehead and to me that sounds like a pretty regular person.