UFC Report: Chael Sonnen Still Training For Jon Jones

Controversial UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen is reportedly still training for a light heavyweight bout with Jon Jones.  Weeks prior, Sonnen said that Vitor Belfort has a history of dropping out of fights, and he still thinks he will get the call if this circumstance does indeed come to fruition.  The bout between Jones and Belfort is a little under a week away, and so far there is no indication that any fighter has sustained injuries in their training camp.

Dana White described the situation with USA Today:

“Chael Sonnen is in full training camp right now,. He’s been training since he got offered the Jones fight. He said, ‘I’m in full camp right now because Vitor will get hurt and pull out, and it will be Jones vs. Sonnen, anyway.”

Sonnen has already went against the grain in terms of promoting his fights, and this action is exactly in the realm of typical Sonnen behavior.  In the past, we saw Chael talk about how he is the undisputed middleweight champion of the world even when Anderson Silva clearly had the rights to that claim.  This could be Chael just trying to stir some controversy and try to get his name in the spotlight, which is very typical of Sonnen.

Regardless of the Jones vs. Belfort outcome, one can only imagine how well the Sonnen vs. Jones fight would sell on pay per view.  Both of these fighters have some of the best drawing power in the UFC right now in terms of pay per view buys, and the fight would more another huge fight for UFC and company.

At least UFC fans know that there will be a back up in case Belort does indeed pull out of the bout, and that plan is none other than the Oregon gangster himself.  Sonnen is coming off a devastating loss to Silva, and it appears he is chomping at the bit to get a hold of Jones inside the cage.  Regardless of whether this comes to fruition, Sonnen always seems to be training and ready for a fight on short notice, which is great from a fan’s perspective.

So is this just Sonnen trying to bypass his way through the light heavyweight division in order to get a shot at the belt?  Feel free to comment in the section below or send me a tweet @MMA_FORTE.