Chael Sonnen Reveals What Worries Him About Rampage Jackson
On Jan. 20, the first round of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament will kick off, as former multi-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen is slated to meet ex-UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the co-main event of Bellator 192 from Inglewood, California.
The 40-year-old Sonnen made his Bellator debut last January, losing to Tito Ortiz. He then bounced back, beating Wanderlei Silva this past June, although he was dropped in the bout.
Heading into his bout with Jackson, a powerful puncher, Sonnen recently admitted that he’s worried about potentially being dropped again:
“That’s the biggest thing, if you were to say what worries me most,” Sonnen told MMAFighting.com. “I have never been knocked out in my career. I had never even been knocked down. In my last fight, I got knocked down by Wanderlei. It was a very scary feeling, because I had no control.”
In addition to that, Sonnen said that he’s never seen “Rampage” ‘quit’. With that in mind, Sonnen feels as if he has to avoid Jackson’s big shots, while effectively using his wrestling skills to win the bout:
“His power worries me,” Sonnen said. “Boom, that uppercut. Boom, that hook. He’s a mean guy. Even when he looks like he’s not in shape, I’ve never seen the guy quit. If I could just find some video of him on Twitter somewhere [quitting], I’d feel better about it. He doesn’t quit and he’s gonna punch hard. I don’t know if he’ll prepare as properly as I will, but he competes really well. He’s gonna show up and if I’m gonna beat him I have to stay on top of him for 15 minutes. Because sooner or later, he’s gonna land one of those shots.”
Bellator 192 is set to be headlined by a welterweight title fight between champion Douglas Lima and former UFC title challenger Rory MacDonald.
