On Tuesday, Dana White said that Chael Sonnen has to do more at 205 pounds than beat Forrest Griffin before he can get a shot at Jon Jones and the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
On Tuesday night, Chael Sonnen said that he doesn't think Jones will ever fight him, making sure to delve back into more of the pointed commentary that we've come to expect from the "Gangster From America."
"He will never fight me," the former top middleweight contender said. "He is surrounded by a bunch of yes men. When he asks them, 'Is Chael better than me?' They tell him, 'Yes.' When he...asks, 'Will Chael take my title away?' they tell him, 'Yes.'"
Based on what the UFC president has had to say on the subject, there's little more to Sonnen's commentary than entertainment value. Of course, for entertainment value, Sonnen is without peer in the UFC when it comes to what takes place outside the Octagon (Jones, Anderson Silva and others are more fun to watch in the cage). Still, it's worth asking why Sonnen would be so talkative about a fight that's at least nine months away, if that.
It probably has something to do with the fight that's four months away, and a little something to do with the fight that's 10 days away.
Chael Sonnen will fight Forrest Griffin in December at UFC 155. The fight is a rematch from an early-career meeting between the two, before Sonnen dropped to middleweight. Griffin, hardly a stalwart jiu-jitsu practitioner, set something of a precedent when he submitted Sonnen with a triangle choke (see also Renato Sobral at UFC 55, Demian Maia at UFC 95 and Anderson Silva at UFC 117). Now, nine years later, Sonnen is looking to avenge that defeat.
The problem, however, is that Griffin has looked less than inspired in his recent Octagon appearances, despite a 2-1 record with wins over Rich Franklin and Tito Ortiz, and next to a planned main event of Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez - not to mention a lightweight barnburner between Joe Lauzon and Gray Maynard - this fight could be short on intrigue.
Sonnen is providing the solution. He realized a long time ago that the more he talks, the more he's talked about, and that's a valuable currency in the fight game. So, he stays in the news, keeps a high profile, and a fight that might otherwise be considered underwhelming has a bit more "juice" to it (and no, that's not a TRT reference).
So, why isn't Sonnen talking about Griffin? For starters, Sonnen said at the outset that he considers Griffin a friend, so that probably has something to do with it. Sonnen was respectful towards Brian Stann ahead of their UFC 136 meeting, so it's not that surprising that he's not keen to go after his friend in Griffin, and would rather talk about Jon Jones.
And of course, there's also the fact that Jones is 10 days away from meeting Dan Henderson for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 151. Jones has said that he's spent too much time lately thinking and talking about people other than the legendary "Hendo," so Sonnen may have done his Team Quest compatriot a bit of a favor (not that he needs it).
In the end, Sonnen's words might not mean a whole lot in terms of future meetings in the Octagon. That will be determined by what the "Gangster from America" can do in the cage. In the meantime, Sonnen is clearly hoping that his words mean something in terms of eyeballs...and dollar signs.