If you’re a Jon Jones fan today then you are definitely in the minority. With news about the UFC 151 debacle stemming from the champion’s refusal to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice, Jones effectively became public enemy No. 1.
But the one party in this situation who seems to be getting a free pass is the UFC.
Although Jones certainly deserves his fair share of the blame and backlash, so too does the UFC and to a certain extent, matchmaker Joe Silva. There have been plenty of main-event fights that have fallen through or had to change due to injuries, but never before has an entire PPV fallen apart as a result.
It just goes to show you the UFC still has a lot to learn about promoting their big stars and not placing all the responsibility of carrying an entire card on one man’s shoulders. If the PPV had a worthy co-main event like the majority of events have, this cancellation wouldn’t need to take place.
The rest of the main-card lineup of fights are entertaining matchups, but none of the fighters have enough drawing power to help promote the event. It’s an issue that could’ve happened a lot sooner at UFC 145.
UFC 145 was built around the rivalry between Jones and former teammate Rashad Evans. While their rivalry certainly led to the roughly 700,000 buyrate, look at the rest of the lineup. Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills was put on as the co-main event despite a possible title eliminator bout, while Michael McDonald vs. Miguel Torres was relegated to nothing more than a main card filler.
Now fast forward to UFC 151 and look at the rest of the lineup that’s supposed to support Jones in promoting the event. A co-main event between Jake Ellenberger and Jay Hieron would likely be entertaining, but how do you sell that being the main event when Ellenberger is coming off a loss and Hieron is an injury replacement who is coming off a win against Romario da Silva?
Just because Jones is a rising star and one of the most recognizable figures in the sport today doesn’t mean he should be carrying the weight of an entire PPV. No single man should. If the UFC didn’t want to be put in this predicament, they should’ve built a worthy undercard for UFC 151 instead of booking it like a boxing card.
Jones certainly deserves the fan backlash for making a “business decision,” but so too does the UFC for not booking PPV-worthy fights.
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