Dan Henderson is confident that if he had stepped inside the Octagon with Jon Jones, he would “beat the…
Dan Henderson is confident that if he had stepped inside the Octagon with Jon Jones, he would “beat the f*ck out of him.”
In September 2012, Henderson was scheduled to square off with ‘Bones’ for the light heavyweight championship at UFC 151. Tragically, the former two-division PRIDE FC titleholder tore his MCL days before fight night, forcing him the withdraw from the contest.
Chael Sonnen offered to step in on short notice to save the event, but Jones declined the sudden change in opponent. As a result, the UFC canceled an event for the first time in promotional history.
“That’s the one fight I wish I would’ve had that I never had,” Henderson told ESPN of Jones. “I was probably the most prepared for that fight that I’ve ever been. Just kind of blew my knee out a little bit before the fight. It happened about three, three-and-a-half weeks before the fight when I hurt my knee.
“Still had the idea that I was going to be able to fight. It would’ve been tough, but I would’ve gotten it done. My team kind of talked some sense into me. It just wasn’t a smart idea. That’s the only fight I’ve ever pulled out of after a 20-year career. So I was kind of bummed” (h/t MMA Junkie).
Jones was originally supposed to fight Dan Henderson 21 days earlier at UFC 151
Henderson never received another opportunity to face Jones, but to this day, the legendary knockout artist is confident that he would have been the man to dethrone ‘Bones’ at light heavyweight.
“I was 100 percent certain I was going to beat the f*ck out of him,” Henderson said. “I absolutely would have beat him up in my mind. I was so prepared, not just physically prepared but tactically, my game plan, everything. And being used to longer guys, I just was so ready, and I think all my training partners would attest to that.”
Henderson did compete against Jon Jones four years following their fight that never. The two combat sports icons competed in a submission grappling contest under the Submission Underground banner in 2016. ‘Bones’ walked away with the victory via an arm-triangle choke.
Today marks the 10th anniversary of UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson. If you don’t recall that event, it’s because it never actually happened. Scheduled for September 1st, 2012, UFC 151 was to have taken place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The headliner was to have been between then-reigning light heavyweight champion […]
Today marks the 10th anniversary of UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson. If you don’t recall that event, it’s because it never actually happened.
Scheduled for September 1st, 2012, UFC 151 was to have taken place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The headliner was to have been between then-reigning light heavyweight champion Jon Jones defending his title against Dan Henderson. The main event was put together to help boost PPV buys after the UFC’s previous two events were met with little fanfare and sub-par buyrates.
A little over a week before the event was scheduled to go down, Henderson notified the UFC that he ruptured his MCL and would be unable to compete. Scrambling to find a short-notice replacement for Henderson, the UFC settled on former middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen. Jon Jones declined the fight. That’s when things went from bad to worse.
With an already thin UFC 151 card propped up by Jones’ world title defense, the UFC was left with no choice, but to cancel the entire UFC 151 card. In the official press release announcing the cancellation, the promotion put the blame squarely on Jones and his head coach, Greg Jackson.
“For the first time in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a UFC champion has refused to face an alternative challenger after an injury to his original opponent, forcing the organization to cancel an event,” read to official UFC press release.
Dana White took a cheap shot at Jackson specifically, calling him the “sport killer,” a moniker that would follow him for years to come.
Greg Jackson Still Willing to Take Full Responsibility for UFC 151 Cancellation
On the 10th anniversary of UFC 151, the event that never was, the man that Dana White and the UFC vilified, Greg Jackson, spoke to MMA Fighting to discuss their decision ten years ago and the aftermath that followed.
“Well, you know I tried my best to kill the sport, but despite my best efforts, somehow it’s still alive and kicking,” Jackson said. “So I’ll wait for my next opportunity to destroy an entire sport by not taking a fight. It’s a talent. I’m a talented guy.”
While Jackson recalls refusing the UFC 151 change as a team, he is more than willing to accept responsibility for the decision.
“I think it was a consensus, but I’ll take the responsibility for telling Jon, for sure. I was the guy that was like, “Hmm, a new opponent, different style, brand new,” and then some random, “Oh, well this is now the No. 1 contender,” even though I don’t think he really was the No. 1 contender. You know what I mean? I didn’t seem right. It was just like, is this a sport or just fight anybody for the title?”
The man chosen to step in at UFC 151, Chael Sonnen, had just come off of a loss to Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight championship. When asked if turning down the Sonnen fight was more about the fighter or the short-notice nature of the situation, Jackson confirmed the deciding factor was the short notice more than anything else.
“It was more that, on eight days, but it was also the style. If it was very close — because we were supposed to fight Henderson, and Henderson’s got wrestling, but he’s also got giant right hands, and his wrestling style is different. So from Dana’s point of view it was, “Oh, Jon will just steamroll Chael and then everybody’s happy,” but I’ve been in so many corners, I’ve seen that go bad, and I don’t underestimate Chael Sonnen at all. Zero. That guy can show up as a world-beater. Really.
So, preparation. This is the 205-pound championship of the world. If you’re a 5-0 guy and it’s your first fight in the UFC or whatever, you’re trying to get a fight, yeah, give me last-minute stuff, whatever. You can weigh that out. But for the championship? I wanted to be prepared and I wanted to win, and neither of those options were as easy. And I’m not saying that Jon wouldn’t have steamrolled him, but I like to win. I like to get in there and be prepared, so really, that’s what it was. Eight days, for the title, lack of preparation for a somebody we’ve never even game-planned against.”
Jackson Believes Dana White Controlled The Narrative Following UFC 151 Cancellation
Following the cancellation of UFC 151, the public backlash was particularly harsh with Jackson and his fighter coming under fire. Asked about being vilified by the public, Jackson believes that was all Dana White’s doing.
“The public reaction is dictated by Dana and Joe [Silva]. So if Dana and Joe come out go, “X,Y, and Z, it’s not a big deal, we’ll have the next fight for you guys, yada, yada, yada,” then people would be sad and disappointed, but there wouldn’t have been that kind of reaction. I guess Joe didn’t have that much to do with this one. Dana just did what Dana does sometimes, which is go hard in the paint. And that’s where the public reaction came from.“
“There’s always some backlash from the fans. The more successful you are, the more backlash you’ll get. So yeah, for a while, everybody was yelling “sport killer” and stuff, but I just found the whole thing funny. “What the hell are you talking about?” It was really absolutely ridiculous to me at the time. Not taking one fight is not going to kill the sport. Even if they cancelled one card, what are you talking about?
“They just tried to make an example of me, tried to make a scapegoat of me. It didn’t work. I’m still around, dumber than ever, but still around. It was just bizarre, not unexpected but still surreal like, ‘What the hell?’”
UFC President Dana White has undoubtedly taken the sport of MMA to levels that were once incomprehensible in the early 1990s. What was once essentially a tough man competition with submissions is now backed by FOX and Reebok, and White’s efforts have arguably turned the UFC into a household name. But for every success Dana […]
UFC President Dana White has undoubtedly taken the sport of MMA to levels that were once incomprehensible in the early 1990s.
What was once essentially a tough man competition with submissions is now backed by FOX and Reebok, and White’s efforts have arguably turned the UFC into a household name.
But for every success Dana White has had, there’s a controversy that follows. White is known for his brash and mercurial temper, and some of his behind-the-scenes dealings have tarnished both him and the UFC.
Let’s take a look back at the six biggest controversies in Dana White’s UFC career!
6. Dana White’s Mom Writes Tell-All Book About Son
Imagine your mother writing a book about how back of a person you are. Well, that’s exactly what June White did to her son, UFC President Dana White.
June wrote about Dana’s penchant for heavy gambling and womanizing, but perhaps the most damning evidence she produces is the way he treated his family after his ascent to fame and fortune. Dana’s mother says he skipped out on his grandmother’s funeral and had made promises to visit her in Florida prior to her passing.
June White says Dana never made that trip. The rest of the book seems like a bit of a mean-spirited campaign against him, but no one knows you better than your own mother.
With tonight’s (Sat., February 10, 2018) UFC 221 from the Perth Arena in Perth, Australia, being billed as one of the worst UFC pay-per-views of all-time, we thought it relevant to look back at the other terrible PPV events the promotion has put on through the years. Not every card can be a blockbuster, and every […]
With tonight’s (Sat., February 10, 2018) UFC 221 from the Perth Arena in Perth, Australia, being billed as one of the worst UFC pay-per-views of all-time, we thought it relevant to look back at the other terrible PPV events the promotion has put on through the years.
Not every card can be a blockbuster, and every now and then, the UFC offers up a supremely subpar pay-per-view, one where you feel like you wasted $60 (now $65, unfortunately) as well as your precious time.
While the UFC has gotten a bit better in stacking their cards and bracing for replacements, they’re still at the mercy of injuries and failed drug tests. Regardless, the UFC doesn’t help itself with so many watered-down cards, which lends them no time to promote each event, and lack of preparation in the event of a curveball.
And some are just downright bad. Let’s take a look at the 10 worst PPVs in UFC history.
Photo by Kyle Terada for USA TODAY Sports
10. UFC 177
TJ Dillashaw’s first run as bantamweight champion was marred by a weaker talent pool and injury replacements.
UFC 177 is a perfect example of that. Dillashaw took on the completely unheralded but surprisingly competent Joe Soto, who was filling in for an injured Renan Barao after the formerly dominant champion hit his head in the bathtub cutting weight.
Even worse, the card lost a rematch between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson. So basically the entire card was gutted like a fish, ending up a fraction of what it could have been.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones made a successful return to combat sports, although it was the way most fans of the record-setting MMA legend may have hoped. Serving a suspension until next summer for a failed drug test prior to July’s UFC 200, Jones bided his time by grappling fellow MMA legend Dan
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones made a successful return to combat sports, although it was the way most fans of the record-setting MMA legend may have hoped.
Serving a suspension until next summer for a failed drug test prior to July’s UFC 200, Jones bided his time by grappling fellow MMA legend Dan Henderson at tonight’s (Sun., December 11, 2016) Submission Underground 2 from Portland, Oregon. Henderson was a former light heavyweight champion in Strikeforce and brought his own backstory with Jones due to their UFC 151 fight cancellation scene, but “Bones” looked to the much more massive man versus the recently retired “Hendo.”
It showed at Chael Sonnen’s submission grappling series, too, as Jones was able to submit the decorated former PRIDE FC champ with an arm triangle choke 6:39 into the match. After the win, Jones showed his respects for Henderson, whom he deemed a true legend:
“I know we’ve had our differences over the years, but I truly respect you. You’re a legend of the sport.”
Jones then called out for a match with Sonnen himself at January 29’s Submission Underground 3, to which “The Bad Guy” quickly accepted before they faced off. Jones’ win was certainly impressive, but seeing him beat outsized, aging names who, in the case of Sonnen, he’s already beaten in the Octagon, isn’t going to tell us much about where Jones truly is. He has to make it to a high-profile fight in the UFC without any outside-the-cage issues, and that’s been a trying prospect in recent years.
In the meantime, he’ll remind us how talented he is in Submission Underground. Here are the full results for their second show:
Main card: Jon Jones def. Dan Henderson via arm triangle at 6:39 Miesha Tate def. Jessica Eye (escape time) Jeff Monson def. Warren Brooks (rear-naked choke) Kyra Batara def. Rita Lynne Gribben (escape time) Joe Baize def. Shaun Kiatvongharoen (heel hook)
Undercard: John Diggins def. KC Thompson (kneebar) Ben Egli def. Devin Roan (kneebar) Matt Howell def. Josh Bennett (escape time) Lee Flores def. Brad Pole (rear-naked choke) Alex Le def. Robert Wolfe (kimura) Sam Robinson def. Katie Ericson (armbar) Jeffery Pelton def. Marques Daniels (escape time) Phill Schwartz def. Gus Bessa (RNC) Kyle Ellsworth def. Rick Bell (RNC) Andrew Alexander def. Tyree Freshner (heel hook) Kevin Hughes def. Mike Currier (kneebar) Chris Folsom def. Jose Rodriguez (escape time) Stryder Davis def. Niko Hughes (escape time) Nicholas Maximov def. Chris Bauer (armbar) Charles Batey def. Chris Martin (heel hook)
The UFC has turned 20 years young this month and like with most anniversaries nostalgia is rife in the MMA community at this time. It is easy to remember the good times. From Royce Gracie’s triumph at UFC 1, to the best knockouts, best submissions…
The UFC has turned 20 years young this month and like with most anniversaries nostalgia is rife in the MMA community at this time.
It is easy to remember the good times. From Royce Gracie’s triumph at UFC 1, to the best knockouts, best submissions and the best events. A 20th anniversary is a cause for celebration and remembering the good is the best way to do so.
However, with the good comes the bad. Sometimes we can even look back at the bad and just laugh, but other times we try to block them out and forget they ever happened. They’re just as important as the good memories, though. Flaws build character and the UFC has had its bad days, but it would be pretty uninteresting if everything was rosy all of the time.
So here is to the bad times and five of the worst moments in UFC history.
Today marks the 10th anniversary of UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson. If you don’t recall that event, it’s because it never actually happened. Scheduled for September 1st, 2012, UFC 151 was to have taken place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The headliner was to have been between then-reigning light heavyweight champion […]
