Jon Jones is often referred to as ‘The baddest man on the planet.’ In the history of combat sports, there has never been a fighter so complete. In theory, there’s very little one can say to outline a flaw in Jones’ game. However, in reality, he comes off as an even better fighter. Most of his opponents, including two of the all-time greats like Chael Sonnen and Daniel Cormier have vouched for that.
DC and Jones have an old history. Their rivalry in the light heavyweight division is considered to be one of the best the fight business has ever seen. These two have fought twice with Jones winning on both occasions. Their last fight, in 2017, was later overturned after Jones tested positive for a turinabol metabolite.
Despite the animosity, DC admires Jones’s ability as a fighter. On a recent episode of Good Guy / Bad Guy, he recalled what it was like to stand in front of him. DC said, “I’ll be honest with you, Chael. I thought I was gonna win both times. And I trained, I thought I was gonna win, I was certain of it…You’re in there fighting Jon Jones and you go, ‘He’s a little bit different than any other human being I’ve ever fought.’”
Cormier said that all of his opponents have been great fighters and some even hit harder than Bones, but it’s still more difficult to face the 37-year-old. He said, “When you get in there with that dude, don’t start rethinking things. Because when you start rethinking things in there…he’s gon’ run right through you.” Sonnen also had an interesting memory pop up in his head from when he fought Jones.
Chael Sonnen adds his memory to the Jon Jones discussion
Sonnen fought Jones in 2013. Despite the gap of over a decade, he remembers all the events that transpired before the fight. He used a gun analogy to make his point. Sonnen said that he once had a gun pulled on him when he was in Brazil. Soon he found out that it wasn’t a gun and he had it confused with something else.
However, at that moment, he realized that his bravado as one of the deadliest men on the planet faded when he thought he was facing a gun. Going against Jones gave Sonnen a similar feeling. He said, “Whatever bravado you think you have. When that referee turns to you and says, “Are you ready?” And you’ve got Jon Jones standing 26 feet across from you. I’m just sharing with you, it changes.”
Sonnen had another moment before the fight where he had to remind himself who he was fighting. Due to their partnership with Fox Sports 1, Dana White wanted Sonnen to do something after the fight. He told Sonnen, “After you win tonight, I need you to look at the camera and I need you to hold up the number one [sign].”
Out of all the things Dana said to him, Sonnen was stuck on “After you win.” He was confused that the boss was showing such confidence in him but soon realized that he must’ve said the same thing to Jon Jones as well.
Prateek is a seasoned content writer with over 2500 published articles and two+ years of experience. His passion for UFC was ignited during Conor McGregor’s meteoric rise, and closely following McGregor’s journey inspired him to bring a sharp, fan-driven perspective to his UFC coverage, blending detailed analysis with compelling storytelling.
