Dan Henderson has love for Chael Sonnen, but he still doesn’t believe he deserves a UFC title shot against Jon Jones.
The former Pride middleweight champion was scheduled to fight Jones back in September at UFC 151, but a knee injury in training forced him out of the bout.
According to UFC President Dana White, Sonnen was the only fighter who offered to step in as a late replacement, which is why he is being rewarded with The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 coaching job and a title shot in April 2013.
After Sonnen was announced as the No. 1 light heavyweight contender, Henderson took to Twitter to vent his frustrations with fighters trash talking their way into UFC title shots. During an appearance on MMA Uncensored, he took the time to clarify his comments.
“[My Twitter] post wasn’t directed at Chael at all. It is what it is. I call it how I saw it,” said Henderson. “I could’ve said the UFC is promoting circuit acts, the man with the longest arms against MMA‘s biggest mouth, but it is what it is. I don’t think the fans wanted to see that, they don’t view it as a real fight.”
“I’ve always had love for Chael. I definitely would help him train if he needs or wants my help. Advice? I’ve trained a whole training camp for Jones and probably have a lot of game plan in there, but Chael and I are just different fighters as well.”
Henderson has already talked to Sonnen about traveling out for a couple of days and helping train his team on The Ultimate Fighter.
He is still prepared to lend a helping hand, despite his personal disdain for the Jones vs. Sonnen matchup.
With the light heavyweight title picture set, Henderson is rumored to be facing former UFC champion Lyoto Machida in early 2013, with the winner possibly earning the next title shot.
After a short layoff, Henderson has recently returned to training, and he is close to 100 percent.
“The knee is getting better. It feels a lot tighter than it was, and that was the biggest thing, unstability. I just started training last week, and it’s feeling good.
I was told that [the fight with Lyoto Machida] should be Super Bowl weekend, February 2, but who knows? Until it’s a done deal, I’ve been told things before that didn’t necessarily come true.”
Is the UFC promoting a circus fight with Jones and Sonnen or is Henderson just expressing sour grapes after being left out of the title picture?
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