Following a feverish night of tweets igniting the rumor that UFC light-heavyweight Dan Henderson was injured and would be forced to withdraw from his upcoming title bout, UFC president Dana White assured fans this morning that this is in fact true. Set to face light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones on September 1st at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Henderson was forced to withdraw following a knee injury.
With Henderson out, former middleweight contender Chael Sonnen was offered the bout and agreed to step in. Bones, however, refused.
Upon Jones' refusal to fight Sonnen, White announced that UFC 151 would be cancelled. Yes, that's right cancelled. This marks the first event cancellation in UFC history.
So, what's my take on this UFC 151 chaos ?
Let me start by saying I don't pay much attention to any fighter's persona. I make every effort to base my judgement of a fighter primarily on their performances. I say this because both Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen seem to possess a persona one can only love or hate. Jones often projecting too much of an ego, and Sonnen parallel to a WWE superstar.
With that said, do I think Sonnen "deserves" a title shot ? No. Moving to the 205 division following a second loss against middleweight champion Anderson Silva in no way warrants a title shot.
Do I give a shit that Sonnen doesn't deserve a title shot? No.
Sonnen stepping in would've salvaged an otherwise destroyed card, allowing other fighters featured in the event to earn their paychecks and bring reward to their months spent training. It would've allowed the fans who eagerly sat at their computers to purchase tickets, arrange flights, and book hotel rooms to still attend a damn event. Above all it would've reiterated the fact that although injuries are an inevitable
aspect of MMA, the UFC is an organization which will consistently make
every effort to repair injury-altered cards.
Upon refusing to fight, Jones stated he would not fight Sonnen on 8 days notice. For lack of better phrasing: Why the fuck not ?!
Perhaps I'd be more empathetic towards Jones' reasoning if he was training for a total different fighter stylistically. However, common to both Henderson and Sonnen is a strong wrestling-based skill-set. Furthermore, Dan Henderson has more recently stopped a fight via his hands than Sonnen, so in the striking department Sonnen appears to be an even easier opponent. What skill is it of Sonnen's that Bones would be ill-prepared for ? His Brazilian jiu-jitsu... ?
Well, I think you get my point.
