Chael Sonnen and former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson have been engaged in a war of words over the past few months, going back-and-forth on social media platforms to take jabs at one another.
From "The American Gangster" saying Ronda Rousey would beat "Rampage" in a fight to calling him stupid to Jackson proclaiming Sonnen is ruining the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), both have hurled their share of insults at one another recently.
In the latest round, Sonnen took to his Twitter account to accuse a certain fighter on the UFC roster of ducking fights. Though he wouldn't say his name for "legal reasons," the former two time number one middleweight contender does give his followers a hint.
See if you can figure it out:
<style type="text/css"> div.twitterditto285391238352478208 { background: #C0DEED url(http://a0.twimg.com/profile_background_images/722550011/4eaa3fced968f90dd692228c8c60ce53.jpeg) no-repeat; padding: 20px; } div.twitterditto285391238352478208 a { color: #0084B4; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 { background: #fff; padding: 10px 12px 10px 30px; margin: 0; min-height: 48px; color: #000; font-size: 22px !important; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 30px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 div.metadata { display: block; width: 100%; clear: both; margin-top: 8px; padding: 12px 0px; height: 55px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 div.follow-button { float: right; padding: 0 30px 0 0; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 div.metadata div.author { line-height: 20px; color: #333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 span.tweet { font-size: 22px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 div.metadata div.author img { float: left; margin: 0px 7px 0px 0px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 a:hover { text-decoration: underline; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 div.timestamp { font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; display: block; color: #999; margin: 10px 0 0 0; line-height: 25px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 div.timestamp a { color: #999; text-decoration: none; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 div.timestamp a > span { display: inline-block; width: 16px; height: 16px; background-image: url("http://images.ientrymail.com/socialditto/everything-spritev2.png"); background-repeat: no-repeat; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 div.timestamp a.twitreply > span { background-position: 0px 3px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 div.timestamp a.twitreply:hover > span { background-position: -16px 3px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 div.timestamp a.favorite > span { background-position: -32px 2px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 div.timestamp a.favorite:hover > span { background-position: -48px 2px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 div.timestamp a.retweet > span { background-position: -80px 3px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 div.timestamp a.retweet:hover > span { background-position: -96px 3px; } p.indent { margin-left: 20px; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 span.name { font-weight: bold; } div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 span.at-name a,div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 span.at-name a:visited, div.twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208 span.at-name a:hover { color: #999; text-decoration: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; } </style><div class="twitterditto285391238352478208"><div class="twitter-inner-ditto285391238352478208"><div class="metadata"><div class="follow-button"><a href="https://twitter.com/sonnench" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false"> Follow @sonnench </a></div><div class="author"><a href="http://twitter.com/sonnench"><img src="http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/2157618713/51bTHk0qfSL-1._SL500_AA300__normal.jpg" alt="" /></a><span class="name"> chael sonnen </span><br /><span class="at-name"><a href="http://twitter.com/sonnench" class="at-name">@sonnench</a></span></div></div><span class="tweet"> A guy on the ROSTER is DUCKING FIGHTS until his contract expires!For legal reasons,I can't say his name, but it rhymes with JENTON QUACKSON! </span><br/><div class="timestamp"><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?in_reply_to=285391238352478208" class="twitreply"><span> </span>Reply</a> · <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/retweet?tweet_id=285391238352478208" class="retweet"><span> </span>Retweet</a> · <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/favorite?tweet_id=285391238352478208" class="favorite"><span> </span>Favorite</a><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/sonnench/status/285391238352478208" title="Sun Dec 30 14:25:48 +0000 2012">3 days ago</a> via <a href="http://twitter.com/download/iphone" rel="nofollow">Twitter for iPhone</a> · powered by <a href="http://www.socialditto.com/">@socialditto</a></div></div></div><script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");</script>
For the sake of argument, we can all agree he's referring to none other than Jackson himself.
"Rampage" had previously called out the rabble-rousing Republican, saying he sucks, but when the time came, Jackson turned down the opportunity to coach against Sonnen on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 17. Instead, current 205-pound kingpin, Jon Jones, took the gig.
Jackson was lined up to take on Mauricio Rua earlier this year, however, nagging knee injuries prevented him from taking the fight. He was then penciled in to take on Glover Teixeira at UFC 153 this past October, but the former Pride FC star bowed out yet again because of an injury.
He and Teixeira are now are lined up to face one another at UFC on Fox 6 on Jan. 26, 2013, in what is expected to serve as Jackson's farewell fight with the promotion. Unless, of course, if "Rampage" wants to hang around to settle his beef with Sonnen and/or is he is unable to compete once again because of injury.
Foreshadowing, perhaps?