Chael Sonnen believes that although UFC fighters Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones may have resolved their conflict, there’s still a competitive tension between them with Adesanya leading—he has surpassed Jones in terms of attention, hype, and financial gains, and he’s coming after Conor McGregor‘s spot in the industry.
Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones, despite recently resolving their differences, are still in a competition of sorts according to Chael Sonnen, who asserts that the competition isn’t over between these two UFC champions, and in his view, it is Adesanya who is winning. Sonnen recently reflected on this rivalry during “The MMA Hour,” stating, “Jon Jones and Izzy, they’ve got this weird thing going back and forth. They’re not going to fight. They’re separated not by one weight class, they’re [separated] by two weight classes. They both want to claim that they’re the best and they’re both getting a lot of people to say that they are. That’s how this is going to be settled through history. It’s going to be settled by the people in a popular opinion.” In Sonnen’s perspective, Izzy is outpacing Jon Jones in gaining hype and attention from the audience and goes on to state that he is even coming after Conor McGregor’s spot.
In terms of accolades and accomplishments in their respective weight classes, Adesanya and Jones are two of the most decorated current UFC titleholders. Adesanya has defended his middleweight championship five times over two reigns and Jones is the most accomplished light heavyweight in UFC history, having defended his title 11 times before going up a division and winning the heavyweight championship in March during UFC 285 with a first-round victory over Ciryl Gane.
However, when taking into account the promotional aspect of MMA, Adesanya has surpassed Jones in the utilization of theatricality. Notable instances such as his confrontational walkouts, post-fight theatrics, and his controversial face-off with his next challenger, Dricus Du Plessis, at UFC 290 have all added to his rising fame and have all become key talking points following the event. Sonnen does not think Jones has engaged with the promotional side of the sport to the same extent as Adesanya, stating, “you have the fight business, and that’s a game that not very many guys play. Izzy plays it, Conor plays it. Jon does not play it. And so it’s just, it’s a different level, it’s a different thing that’s going on with these guys.
Sonnen further elaborated on Jones’ missed opportunities in the fight business. One such instance was his missed fight with Francis Ngannou, which Sonnen attributes to Jones’ lack of focus on the business. He scoffed at Jones’s self-proclaimed greatness in the sport stating, “you want to go walk around and say you’re the greatest in the sport? You can’t get a goddamn fight to happen? You can’t get a fight to happen that the promoter wants to happen? Then you’re not one of the greats in the sport. You’re not great at it at all. You kind of suck at it. That’s where he’s at, on the business side of it. He can throw the punches and kicks. So what? Try to pay a bill with those.” In terms of combat prowess or business acuity, Adesanya seems to surpass Jones in Sonnen’s consideration.