In the wake of Tuesday’s news, fallout from Chael Sonnen’s abrupt entry into title contention continues to emerge.
While never officially announced, Sonnen was intended to rematch Forrest Griffin at UFC 155 for his reintroduction to the light heavyweight division. That fight, however, is no longer part of the plan, as Sonnen will begin taping The Ultimate Fighter on October 29, 2012, and then remain on the shelf until his April 27th meeting with Jon Jones.
Griffin, whose status on the year-end card is unclear at the time of this writing, offered his response to the TUF announcement to Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight.
“I’m not mad at him,” Griffin said, referencing Sonnen. “Why fight your way to the top when you can talk your way to the top?”
Sonnen most recently fought against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 148, losing a heavily-anticipated grudge match via second-round TKO after dominating the opening frame. Sonnen’s last fight at light heavyweight came in 2005, when he was defeated by Renato “Babalu” Sobral via triangle choke at UFC 55.
Regardless of the bout cancellation, the affable Griffin seemed to be taking everything in stride, jokingly adding, “I’m actually happy I’m not fighting him anymore, because watching his fights was boring and tedious.”