Despite taking part in a huge Bellator Heavyweight Title tournament, Chael Sonnen took time to appreciate New Japan Pro Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 12 during fight camp.
When speaking to Fightful's James Lynch ahead of Bellator 192, Sonnen talked about his admiration for Chris Jericho
"I like Chris Jericho because he always changes his character and adapts. About every 12 months he makes a little tweak and at 47 years old still keeps himself extremely relevant. That's a hard thing to do. A lot of people come out and they're a flash in the pan, even in MMA, and they don't understand how to extend that career. They miss that psychological aspect of getting through to the crowd so I really admire him for that," said Sonnen. "I watched him take on Omega. I thought it was great on both parts. I thought Omega was great, too. It was a great matchup!"
Sonnen mentioned that he doesn't watch much WWE on TV, but usually attends WrestleMania live and visits WWE when they come to Portland. He also revealed that despite his connection to pro wrestling, he actually passed on wrestling for Impact in the past.
"Jeff Jarrett was kind of my contact to that world, and he's kind of stepped out a little bit. I got asked to wrestle for Impact a couple of times. I probably prefer the commentary gig. I'm not as big a wrestling fan as sometimes I get made out to be. I was when I was a kid. I was a big fan of Demolition, the greatest tag team ever, who the Road Warriors ripped off," said Sonnen, "That'll piss some people off, won't it?"
In the full interview, Chael Sonnen (29-15-1) discusses his upcoming fight against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (37-12) at Bellator 192 on Jan. 20 for the Heavyweight Tournament. Chael also talks about the birth of his daughter last month, his training camp for this fight and his love for pro wrestling.
