Off The Record host Michael Landsberg went round two with UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen earlier today.
Landsberg made it his mission to smooth things over with Sonnen after the UFC fighter walked off the set of their last interview in what Landsberg called “the most unique experience of his career”.
After discussing their feelings and sharing their opinions on what went wrong the first time — and even Dr. Phil would have been proud of their advances in communication –the two were able to actually talk a little shop.
First things first, Sonnen has a fight coming up on January 28 against fellow middleweight Mark Munoz at UFC on FOX 2. Sonnen discussed fighting someone like Munoz, who he respects and likes, compared to fighting someone like Anderson Silva, who he does not.
However, despite that fact, Sonnen’s days of trying to goad “The Spider” into a rematch may be over (or at least slowing down) as he seems to have grown tired of the unrequited baiting. Instead, Sonnen’s focus seems to be turning toward one of the other UFC title-holders at light heavyweight, heavyweight or possibly even welterweight.
He explained:
“The bottom line is I’m done with the guy. He and I have no business. This guy is cold product man. He’s like Jheri curls and Pepsi Clear, he’s yesterday’s news. I destroyed this guy when he was tough. That was years ago. He’s so far over the hill and past his prime it’s not worth talking about. I’m going to become the number one contender on January 28th. But despite what you may think, I am not going to use that voucher to fight Anderson Silva. I’ll be looking at Dos Santos, Jones and possibly St. Pierre. But I will take that voucher to Dana White and I will pick one of those three guys. My time with Anderson is done.”
When asked to clarify if he indeed would like to fight Jon “Bones” Jones, Sonnen said:
“Look, I’m going after a championship match. Anderson Silva is no more the champion than the man on the moon. And trying to pretend he is is a waste of my breath. Jon Jones is a real man that will accept challenges.”
Of course, Sonnen normally fights at middleweight (185) and Jones is the light heavyweight (205) champ. When asked how much he currently weighs, Sonnen said:
“217 pounds of muscle, steel and sex appeal.”
Landsberg questioned the weight difference between he and Jones and if it would be an issue:
“I don’t get caught up in that stuff. When I became a fan of the sport was in the early 90’s and we didn’t have weight classes. Everybody just kind of went out and competed against each other. I’ve never got caught up in weight. That’s something that was put in after I had already agreed. So, whatever a guy weighs, I don’t pay any attention.”
Thoughts for discussion
Well, there you have it… If you could pick any other champion aside from Anderson Silva for Sonnen to fight, would it be Jon Jones, Junior Dos Santos or Georges St-Pierre?
The prospect of Sonnen making welterweight seems ludicrous, frankly. A catchweight bout seems plausible. But a light heavyweight bout with Jones would be the most sensible, at least on paper.