If Chael Sonnen Beats Jon Jones at UFC 159, Daniel Cormier Says It’d Be Biggest Upset Ever

Chael Sonnen is going to make light heavyweight champion Jon Jones uncomfortable during their fight at UFC 159 on Saturday in New Jersey, but if he wins the fight it will “hands down, without a doubt” be the biggest upset in UFC history.

At least in the opinion of UFC heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier it would be.

Cormier was a guest on UFC Tonight on Tuesday night, breaking down the fight. Like most pundits, he believes that Sonnen is facing a steep uphill battle.

“If Chael is going to beat Jon Jones, he’s going to have to beat him over the course of 25 minutes and dominate that fight,” said Cormier.

Sonnen did just that in his first fight with Anderson Silva, only he fell a couple minutes shy of the prerequisite 25 and got submitted.

Cormier said that Sonnen would likely employ a similar strategy against Jones, making it a tough fight for the champion, but expects him to fall short once again.

“Chael is going to make (Jones) fight in places where he’s not used to fighting,” Cormier stated. “I know Chael will take him down and is going to pressure him. Chael is going to make him uncomfortable by constantly going forward. Chael won’t make the mistake that many fighters make: backing up and circling. You cannot allow Jon Jones to be so comfortable going forward in the cage.”

At the end of the day, however, Sonnen won’t be able to take the gold from Jones. If he did, Cormier says no other upset in UFC history would compare to the feat.

“Hands down, without a doubt (it would be the biggest upset in UFC history). People talk about Matt Serra vs. Georges St-Pierre. Serra had great knockout power and he also had the submission threat,” said Cormier.

“Chael’s speeches are great. But Jon Jones is the man and is going to win this fight. But Chael, go out there, take him down and set the game plan and the way to beat Jon Jones for the rest of us!”