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UFC legend Chael Sonnen ‘accepts’ return to action age 48 this weekend after callout from BJJ star

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Donagh Corby | Last updated Aug 26, 2025 2:32 PM ET

Chael Sonnen has verbally accepted a challenge to compete at this weekend’s Craig Jones Invitational against the man of the hour.

The legendary former UFC middleweight and light-heavyweight title challenger hasn’t competed in the cage since the summer of 2019. He did return for an exhibition boxing bout last summer against Anderson Silva, but the bout was little more than a glorified sparring session.

Now, he is offering to grapple with one of the most prominent grapplers in the world; Craig Jones. The Australian was due to face Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, but it appears that a questionable foot injury has cost him that matchup, and maybe landed him an even bigger name.

Chael Sonnen accepts Craig Jones’ callout for short-notice return to action

After Gable Steveson’s late-notice pullout from the Craig Jones Invitational, the headliner called for another super-fight. This time, he wanted Chael Sonnen, and the legendary trash talker seems to have delivered with an affirmative response.

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“Was he calling me out, was this the call out?” Sonnen asked during an appearance on FloGrappling today. “He disguised it as a friendly phone call. You can tell Craig Jones not only do I accept, but I’m p—ed off about it.

“Do you know what I would do to Gable Steveson? This is a massive step up. The last time I saw Gable I put him in a headlock and I gave him a noogie right after I signed an autograph for him. Goodbye, turkey. I will see you at CJI.”

Craig Jones Invitational features $1million tournament

While Jones’ return to action is the featured super-fight of the event, CJI 2 is primarily built around a $1million team tournament. The bout is also expected to be the BJJ star’s final match as he looks to retire from competition and step back from the B-Team.

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Eight teams of five will compete in the $1million tournament, with representatives from around the world taking part. 10th Planet, New Wave, Atos, B-Team and “Daisy Fresh” Pedigo Submission Fighting will be joined by teams representing America, Australasia and Europe.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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