When UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones refused to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice at UFC 151, Dana White canceled the entire event.
While many fans and White himself came down hard on Jones, he was only half of the problem.
The reason Jones was in that situation to begin with was because his original opponent, Dan Henderson, was injured while training.
No one really enters a fight 100 percent. And in Henderson’s case, his injury was so severe that there was no way he could fight.
But thanks to the UFC cancelling the event, more fighters may actually fight through more injuries just to save an event.
Although this may sound good for a fan to see fights go on, there should be other alternatives.
Fighters put their bodies on the line just by training for fights.
But if the last two years have taught us anything, it’s that fights can be cut off at the drop of a dime.
People came down on Jones this year for not taking a short-notice fight. But just last year he filled in for an injured Rashad Evans to fight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to keep the championship fight going.
UFC 130 was suppose to feature Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 3, but the fight had to be pushed back thanks to both men being hurt.
Although it wasn’t the event of the year, the show went on.
Then there’s the welterweight title fiasco that was originally suppose to feature Nick Diaz vs. Georges St-Pierre.
Diaz vs. St-Pierre and Carlos Condit vs. BJ Penn turned into Condit vs. St-Pierre, Penn vs. Diaz and eventually Diaz vs. Condit for an interim title this year.
Over the past two years, injuries have plagued more cards, especially main events, than any other time in MMA history.
But instead of guys fighting through injuries just to save a card, perhaps the UFC should have a list of guys on call in case something happens to a fighter on a main event.
Or perhaps their cards should be better stacked so situations like UFC 151 won’t happen where the only interesting fight is the main event.
Not every card will hit it out of the ballpark. Just like unassuming cards like UFC 153 may turn out better than expected.
Guys will always fight through injuries. It’s apart of the game for any athlete.
But if it comes to risking your career just to save an event that should not solely be on your shoulders to began with, fighters should take a step back and consider what they’re really fighting for.
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