Jon Jones believes giving Chael Sonnen an undeserved UFC title shot would do more harm than good for the sport.
Sonnen, who is coming off a loss to Anderson Silva, has recently turned his attention towards Jones and the UFC light heavyweight title.
The growing beef between the MMA stars stems from the whole fiasco surrounding UFC 151, where Jones turned down a proposed title bout with Sonnen.
Despite being a world class fighter in his own right, Sonnen‘s mouth is the biggest contributor to his rise to stardom.
He has gone to incredible lengths in attempts to clown MMA legends like Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Wanderlei Silva and Fedor Emelianenko.
Now, the self-proclaimed “Oregon Gangster” has Jones in his crosshairs.
For Jones, the idea of fighting Sonnen is an internal struggle. On one hand, he’s giving fans the fight they want to see, but on the other, he feels he is minimizing the significance of the UFC title.
This isn’t professional wrestling. In the UFC, title opportunities are earned, not handed out. Jones recently took to Twitter to share his feelings on the escalating situation:
The more I realize how bad the fans want to see me fight Sonnen the more I am beginning to disregard whether he deserves it or not
A part of me wants to do it for the fans the other part of me feels as if it delegitimizes the importance of championship
At the end of the day, the UFC is a business, and it’s hard to deny Sonnen‘s marketing abilities. Silva may be an all-time great, but at UFC 148, it was Sonnen who turned a highly anticipated grudge match into the biggest fight in UFC history.
Could he do the same with Jones?
It’s certainly possible, especially with the growing bad blood between the two. Perhaps, the more appropriate question is whether or not the UFC would even make the fight.
Sonnen is expected to face former UFC light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin at UFC 155. A win would add to his leverage in convincing the UFC to give him a shot at Jones.
Love him or hate him, it’s hard to discount Sonnen‘s exceptional business IQ.
A few months ago, he was dominated by Silva, and now, he is a potential title contender in the light heavyweight division.
Can life get any better?
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