The fallout of UFC 151 continues are Jon Jones striking coach Mike Winkeljohn has made public statements where he doesn’t think Jones should be blamed for UFC 151 being canceled and is wondering if Chael Sonnen has been training for his fighter.
Winkeljohn talked to BloodElbow.com and stated that he could no longer go quit on this situation.
“Well sir, I’m not a media guy but enough’s enough, Winkeljohn said. “I can’t sit back on the sidelines any longer. All I can say to everybody, don’t put this on Jon. There are others to blame. This UFC 151 problem should have been resolved weeks ago. Chael Sonnen is a smart guy with cardio for days. He has relentless takedowns and is a much different fighter than Dan Henderson.”
Sonnen has been attacking Jones on Twitter in the recent weeks, which leads Winkeljohn to believe that Sonnen has been training for a bout with Jones.
“How long has Chael been attacking Jon in the media and why? He’s a guy known for moneymaking schemes and cheating by bending the rules,” he said. “And he’s done this in various arenas. I think Chael played almost everyone like a fiddle. But I believe like a coward he tried to train and strike Jon when Jon wasn’t looking. But hey, Jon is a warrior, and he, actually we, saw it coming. All I can say to Chael is nice try.”
Winkeljohn would like to see a bout happen between his fighter and Sonnen at some point. However, he doesn’t want to have the fight on such short notice.
“Jon vs Sonnen. With no surprise attacks like Pearl Harbor,” he said. “That’s a fight I want to see. Jon will win the war and I think the UFC should capitalize on it.”
Sonnen was never offered a chance to take on Jones at UFC 152 on September 22nd as Vitor Belfort accepted the fight after Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua both turned down the fight.
UFC President Dana White has stated that he books fights that the fans want to see and it’s only a matter of time before fans get to see Jones and Sonnen meet in the cage.