Chael Sonnen was stunned by Jon Jones' behavior leading up to their UFC 159 title fight on April 27, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Chael Sonnen, known for his bold trash talk, felt unusually confident ahead of his fight against Jon Jones at UFC 159, despite his typical bravado.
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Chael Sonnen Says He Genuinely Felt He Had a Chance Against Jon Jones
Chael Sonnen was confident he could beat Jon Jones, believing that despite Jones' exceptional talent, he wasn't putting in the same level of training effort as Sonnen leading up to their UFC 159 fight.
In an episode of the Fight Back podcast, Sonnen claimed: “It is hard to explain how talented he is at that game. We did The Ultimate Fighter together, and my confidence was growing each day.
“First off, we were offered an opportunity to fight, and he turned it down. That was kind of a badge of honor for me, ‘What did he see, why did he turn that down’? It kind of boosted me.
“Then, we did The Ultimate Fighter, and I was doing two workouts a day, every day, six days a week, and he never broke a sweat. Some days, he didn’t even come in. He’d been at the club.
“So, I’m watching that, and I’m saying, ‘Ok, he’s really good, but I can for sure outpace him, I’m doing it right, I’m doing it every day, and it just wasn’t like that. That dude can just play this game.”
The confidence and belief could prove to be enough on the day, as Jon Jones picked up a win in the first round of the fight itself.