I’m probably not alone in this, but I don’t care to ever see Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen fight inside the Octagon. I just don’t see the fight being competitive. While they both would be fighting in the light heavyweight division, I just don’t see their skill sets as comparable.
If Dan Henderson, a man that has won titles in Pride and Strikeforce is +500 to Jones’ -700, can you imagine what the line on Sonnen vs. Jones bout would be?
I’m a fan of Sonnen’s, I like what he brings to the table, he entertains inside and outside the Octagon and he brings personality and panache to a sport that sometimes lacks those traits. He builds interest in his fights and appearances.
Love him or hate him, people tune in to hear what Sonnen has to say and there’s not many figures in MMA, or in any sport today that you can say that about.
With that being said, I’m not sold on this move to light heavyweight and the immediate jousting with the light heavyweight champion. I understand that the move up in weight was necessary for Sonnen if he wanted to pursue UFC gold. After all, the chance of Sonnen earning another shot at Anderson Silva and his middleweight crown was very slim after he dropped two fights to Silva.
But is it realistic to think that a fighter that went 6-4 in the UFC’s middleweight division can hang with the top 10 fighters in the light heavyweight division, let alone Jones, who sports a record of 10-1 in the UFC and is leaving the bodies of past UFC champions in his wake?
Then again, the move may be coming at a perfect time for Sonnen. If Jones gets past Henderson in the main event at UFC 151, he will have effectively cleared out the light heavyweight division with the exception of Alexander Gustafsson, who is fighting Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on Dec. 8.
If Gustafsson defeats Rua and Sonnen defeats Forrest Griffin on Dec. 29, the odds are likely that Jones will face one of those two fighters. While Gustafsson may be the higher ranked of the two, the Sonnen fight may be the more interesting fight to the fans if we are going to go by the reactions to the recent twitter battle between Jones and Sonnen.
The pre-fight hype would be amazing for a Jones vs. Sonnen bout. I’m sure Sonnen would love to hype another title bout, especially against a fighter with a high profile such as Jones, but other than the build up, would Sonnen bring anything to the table that Jones hasn’t seen and overcome in the past?
Would he be able to take Jones to the mat? No one else has been able to do so and if he couldn’t do that, then what? Sonnen would be giving up 10.5 inches in reach to Jones, a deficit that has proven difficult for any of Jones’ opponents to overcome.
If the Jones vs. Sonnen fight comes to fruition I don’t see the fight itself being competitive. I think Jones adds another name to his growing list of victims. However, I’ll fork over the cash to watch the pay-per-view and I’m sure that I, as well as most MMA fans, will read and listen to every exchange the two will have leading up to the fight.
The build up will be intense and unforgettable. The fight itself? I’m not so sure that it would be as memorable.
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