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UFC 151: An Event of What-Ifs and Why Nots

UFC 151 is no more, as Dana White canceled the event due to the lack of a main event. Originally headlined by Jon Jones and Dan Henderson, Henderson backed out due to a knee injury. With Henderson’s departure from the main event, Jones was offered…

UFC 151 is no more, as Dana White canceled the event due to the lack of a main event. Originally headlined by Jon Jones and Dan Henderson, Henderson backed out due to a knee injury.

With Henderson’s departure from the main event, Jones was offered a number of fights which he turned down. From Chael Sonnen to Chris Weidman, it seemed like everybody and their brother wanted to take the short-notice fight.

UFC 151 now becomes an event of what-ifs and why nots.

On paper, UFC 151 was not the most star-studded card, but the fights on the card were sure to be crowd pleasing. Sure, Shane Roller vs. Jacob Volkmann and Kyle Noke vs. Charlie Brenneman didn’t turn any heads, but they were relegated to Facebook.

While several fights have been moved to other cards, some have died altogether. Fights with much intrigue, such as Eddie Yagin vs. Dennis Siver and John Lineker vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani, are scrapped at the moment.

What if Jon Jones simply accepted a fight with Chael Sonnen? Forrest Griffin, one man, would have lost a fighting opportunity. But again, he is one man.

Instead, over a dozen men go without a payday opportunity.

And it doesn’t just affect the fighters on the UFC 151 card. Alan Belcher, who was supposed to fight Vitor Belfort at UFC 153, now finds himself without an opponent.

Two men who were supposed to headline UFC 152, Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson, are now relegated to the co-main event. An event that was supposed to put the spotlight on the flyweights now puts the attention on Jon Jones.

UFC 151 could have seen Jake Ellenberger avenge one of his few losses against Jay Hieron. It could have provided guys like Abel Trujillo, Tim Means and Daron Cruickshank an opportunity to show improvement since their last fight.

Instead, Jon Jones selfishly denied a short-notice replacement. Yes, the champion turned down a fight with a man who usually fights a weight class down, has not trained for the fight and lost to a guy similar to Jones.

I have always found myself defending Jones when other fans randomly attacked him for his personality and for other reasons. But after this latest incident, I can no longer do that.

I am madder about Jones turning down a fight with Sonnen than when he got a DUI. Yes folks, I am madder about a man folding a mixed martial arts event than him breaking a law that has hurt so many in the past.

I guess I am just crazy like that.

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Lyoto Machida Turns Down Jon Jones Fight at UFC 152, Vitor Belfort Steps in After Shogun Declines as Well [JONESANITY]

(“Vitor, my brother, you must take this fight for me. I have, how you say, too much pussy.”)

Remember how badly Lyoto Machida wanted a rematch with Jon Jones? Well, he didn’t want it badly enough to fight Jones on a month’s notice. In the latest chapter of the UFC’s most bizarre storyline of 2012, it was revealed late last night by MMAFighting that Machida decided he needed more time to prepare for another title fight against the light-heavyweight champ, and has turned down the opportunity. Machida had briefly been scheduled to face Jones at UFC 152 on September 22nd. (Yes, we’re calling it UFC 152 again. “UFC 151 will be remembered as the event Jon Jones and Greg Jackson murdered,” according to UFC president Dana White.)

The UFC’s next choice for Jones’s opponent was, logically, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who also “won impressively” at UFC on FOX 4. But as Lance Pugmire of the LA Times tweeted, Shogun also turned down the fight. Unbelievable. And so, Dana’s hate list grows larger by the day.

But look, on the horizon…a savior. For some reason, middleweight contender Vitor Belfort was offered the chance to fight Jones at UFC 152, which he happily accepted. Said Belfort: “Where a lot of guys are acting like divas I think this is a big challenge for any fighter. I have all the respect for Jones. That’s why you can’t miss this competition. I will not let no one down. I come from the times of Carlson Gracie. He lives inside of me.” Belfort was originally slated to fight Alan Belcher at UFC 153 in Rio.

(“Vitor, my brother, you must take this fight for me. I have, how you say, too much pussy.”)

So there you have it: Jones will be making his next title defense against a 185′er, but not the one that you’d expect. Perhaps the fact that Chael Sonnen is coming off a loss was enough to disqualify him, although if Belfort turned down the Jones offer as well, who knows what could have happened?

A few more fun facts:

— Always a gentleman, Anderson Silva offered to save UFC 151 by stepping in to fight a light-heavyweight on the card…just not Jon Jones.

— Also from the MMAFighting report: “White added since Machida turned down the title shot, he will most likely have to fight another top contender before he gets an opportunity to fight for the title again.” Yeah, no shit. Jones didn’t want to fight Machida, the fans weren’t psyched about it, and now Dana doesn’t want it either. Maybe now would be a good time for the Dragon to drop to middleweight.

— This. What a difference two years makes.

UFC 152: Vitor Belfort vs. Jon Jones Makes Absolutely No Sense

The UFC 151 fiasco, which caused the collapse of a UFC event for the first time in the promotion’s history, has thrown up some surprising developments in its aftermath. First, there was the prospect of Chael Sonnen stepping up to replace the inju…

The UFC 151 fiasco, which caused the collapse of a UFC event for the first time in the promotion’s history, has thrown up some surprising developments in its aftermath.

First, there was the prospect of Chael Sonnen stepping up to replace the injured Dan Henderson to face Jon Jones and challenge for the light heavyweight title. With Jones putting the kibosh on that idea, Lyoto Machida, in mid-flight to Brazil, was asked to rescue the event, but declined.

Next we heard news, from Dana White himself, that Anderson Silva offered to fight in the main event at 205 against another light heavyweight opponent—the first time the middleweight champion has fought at that weight class since KO’ing Forrest Griffin in 2009. But that offer was also turned down.

Amid the madness, however, perhaps the most curious development, and the one that makes least sense, is Vitor Belfort being given the chance to fight for the light heavyweight title.

It’s Belfort who, as Dana White told MMAFighting.com, will fight at the rescheduled event on 22 September.

Belfort hasn’t fought at 205 since 2007, back when he was struggling with a 4-5 record as a light heavyweight. He has since rejuvenated his career as a UFC middleweight, and stacked a 7-1 record with his only loss to Anderson Silva.

The 35-year-old Belfort has spent most of his career fighting the big guys. At only 19, he won the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament, and went on to capture the light heavyweight title against Randy Couture in 2004.

But even with such an illustrious history, it makes no sense to give him a title shot in his first fight at 205 in five years.

Given that the UFC has now another month to prepare for the event, there are much more salient choices. If Machida refused to take the fight, then how about Mauricio “Shogun” Rua?

Only three weeks ago, Rua fought what was supposed to be a title eliminator against Brandon Vera. The fact that Machida scored a more emphatic win against Ryan Bader was the only reason why he was given the shot over Rua.

But that should not discount Rua’s achievements in the division in the last year where he beat Forrest Griffin by first-round KO, lost a narrow decision to Dan Henderson in an epic battle which earned Hendo a title shot, and his latest stoppage of Vera.

Rua is scheduled to fight Alexander Gustafsson in December, and there’s another name that should have been “in the mix” when considering who to pit against Jones.

Gustafsson is an outstanding light heavyweight, and has racked up five straight wins in the UFC, defeating tough opponents such as Matt Hamill, Vladimir Matyushenko and Thiago Silva. Even if, as many consider, that record does not make him quite ready for a title shot, he is still more ready than Belfort.

The fact is, the light heavyweight division does not have the paucity of talent as many would believe and there are several fights that could, and should be made ahead of Belfort.

Even Chael Sonnen, considering the level of competition he’s had compared to Belfort at the same weight division, should be considered ahead of the Brazilian. If eight days notice was too soon for Jones, and Sonnen was the organisation’s first point-of-call, then why wasn’t he reconsidered for a match four weeks away?

Sonnen would have hyped the fight and created far more fan attention than Belfort ever can.

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UFC 152: Why Vitor Belfort Instead of Chael Sonnen?

Jon Jones doesn’t want to fight Chael Sonnen on eight days notice. For that reason, he refused a fight with the former middleweight at UFC 151, and that decision ultimately led to the card’s demise.When Bones was moved to UFC 152, Lyoto Machida was nam…

When Bones was moved to UFC 152, Lyoto Machida was named as the replacement for an injured Dan Henderson, but The Dragon mysteriously turned down the championship opportunity.

With Machida out of the picture, Jones still needed an opponent for Sept. 22. Clearly, the best candidate for the position is middleweight contender Vitor Belfort. Wait. What?

If the short notice was the true reason that Jones wouldn’t face Sonnen at UFC 151, why isn’t the champion facing Oregon’s favorite wrestler at UFC 152?

Only hours ago, the announcement was made that Jon Jones will defend his championship against The Phenom in the new main event of UFC 152.

No one seems to understand why or how Belfort appeared in the picture. After all, Chael Sonnen has been engaged in a Twitter war with the champion. He looked like a hero on Thursday when he offered to save an endangered event.

In terms of marketability, it is a no-brainer that Sonnen is a better selection than Belfort. Fans are certainly willing to pay for Chael in a championship bout. In fact, his UFC 148 rematch with Anderson Silva is one of the rare events to break 1,000,000 buys on pay-per-view.

How about rankings? Neither Belfort nor Sonnen has been a light-heavyweight in recent history, so both men are outside of the divisional top 10. While Sonnen doesn’t get the advantage here, he isn’t hurt either.

Ultimately, I feel that the decision came down to the fact that Chael Sonnen is coming off of a loss. While Belfort’s latest bouts are victories over non-ranked opponents like Yoshihiro Akiyama and Anthony Johnson, he has momentum on his side.

Sonnen, Belfort or someone else: Who do you think should face Jon Jones next month?

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UFC 151 Cancelled: Jon Jones Either Re-Branding Brilliantly or Failing Miserably

The UFC has a star problem.You can recruit the best talent, cultivate that talent and market the hell out of the finished product, but every fighter is a split-second lapse from being stopped and falling to the back of the line. Remember the Broc…

The UFC has a star problem.

You can recruit the best talent, cultivate that talent and market the hell out of the finished product, but every fighter is a split-second lapse from being stopped and falling to the back of the line.

Remember the Brock Lesnar era? Or the Cain Velasquez era? Or the Lyoto Machida era?

Jon Jones has the tools to be part of the solution, but his refusal to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice seemingly made him part of the problem. The UFC can endure losses from their big names, but for a company with fighting in its title, it’s difficult to calculate the impact of its rising star refusing to fight.

Jones was not obligated to accept the fight with Sonnen. It is his right to turn down a short-notice title defense and train for the next highest-ranked challenger. Any fighter has the right of refusal, but Jon Jones isn’t just any fighter.

He’s the potential star who can elevate the sport further into the mainstream; he’s the lone MMA fighter with a Nike endorsement.

Rather than save UFC 151 by taking on a 35-year-old with less than two weeks to prepare, he chose to protect his title rather than defend it. Fear may not have been the motivating factor, but in the alpha-dog world of MMA, the mere appearance of fear can be enough to condemn.

And mainstream fans typically don’t pay to watched a coward.

But they’ll pay to watch a villain.

Jones has been unapologetic for acknowledging pay-per-view projections in his desire to select opponents. He speaks freely about business savvy and defends his motives as a refusal to be a “broke athlete” when he retires. There are few things in professional sports less endearing than millionaire athletes voicing their financial motives.

On a conference call with the media, UFC President Dana White laid into Jones and his coaches and wasn’t shy about touching on the money issue (via MMAFighting.com):

Good for you, Jon Jones. You’re rich, and you got some money; you don’t need to take this fight. But there’s a bunch of guys on the undercard. This is how they feed their family, and this is how they make a living.

White also said Jones’ popularity has yet to match his talent and success, for whatever reason, and the refusal to fight Chael Sonnen probably wouldn’t help:

As much as he’s won, and all the things he’s accomplished in a short amount of time, he burst onto the scene a year and a half ago, he’s ripped through the top guys, he’s been a champion that hasn’t been very popular and I don’t think this is going to do wonders for his popularity.

Popularity can be overrated. Polarizing sells.

The Yankees, LeBron, Tiger and Floyd Mayweather move the needle and sell tickets everywhere they go. They are loved by some, hated by many. The worst thing for a relatively niche sport like MMA is to run guys out that don’t induce emotional responses.

Jon Jones is stirring up emotions. It remains to be seen whether he’s doing it intentionally or if he’s just a coward.

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Does Jon Jones’ Reasoning for Turning Down UFC 151 Sonnen Bout Hold Water?

On Thursday the UFC took the previously unprecedented step of scrapping an entire fight card.With Dan Henderson injured and unable to perform and UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones turning down a fight with Chael Sonnen, the promotion decided to …

On Thursday the UFC took the previously unprecedented step of scrapping an entire fight card.

With Dan Henderson injured and unable to perform and UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones turning down a fight with Chael Sonnen, the promotion decided to cancel UFC 151.

UFC president Dana White had no problem placing blame when it came to the reasoning behind the cancellation of the card, laying that squarely on the doorstep of Greg Jackson and Jon Jones, saying:

Jon Jones said ‘I’m not fighting Chael Sonnen with eight days’ notice. Jones’s trainer, Greg Jackson, told Jon that taking the fight with Chael would be the biggest mistake of his life. That’s what he told Jon Jones. Let me tell you, this guy (Greg Jackson) is a sport killer.

As for Sonnen, when White called him to inquire if he was interested in taking Henderson’s spot on the card, Sonnen jumped at the chance, according to White:

He said that not only would he face Jones in eight days, he’d jump in a plane to Vegas and fight him that night if he was asked to.

Throughout the day the MMA media, fans and fighters all offered their opinions on the subject of Jones turning down the fight and the majority of those voices were very critical of Jones. Through all the bashing Jones was silent.

That changed late on Thursday when John Morgan from MMAJunkie.com sat down with the champ.

Jones offered his apologies to the fans and fighters that were affected by the fight card’s cancellation, but ultimately as he said, “I feel terrible, but it also wasn’t my decision to cancel the whole card. I don’t make those decisions.”

It’s true, Jones doesn’t make those decisions, but there is no denying that his decision to turn down the fight with Sonnen left the UFC in a bind. Yes, you can argue that the UFC shouldn’t have put all its eggs in one basket, but they did and for that they do share in some of the blame.

However, they found what they thought was a suitable replacement in Sonnen, only to have the champ put the kibosh on the fight. A decision that White said left him “disgusted with Jon Jones and Greg Jackson.”

Jones offered the expected reasons as to why he turned down the fight with Sonnen. Among those reasons, he was planning on facing Dan Henderson, a different fighter than Chael Sonnen, and he would not have had time to adjust his game plan for Sonnen.

But one other reason stood out:

If this was my first fight in the UFC and I really didn’t have a choice and they needed somebody to step in last-minute, if it was that type of scenario, then I’d probably more open to it, but I’m a UFC champion, and I need to perform that way. If I would have taken this fight, that would have been letting my ego get in the way and not using my intellect. This is war, and you have to go in there prepared.

This is the one thing that stuck out for me and bothered me about what Jones had to say. Taking the fight would have been letting his “ego get in the way.”

I would argue that turning down a fight that his employer set up for him and expected him to take showed just as much ego getting in the way as accepting the fight would have.

In fact, I would say that turning the fight down showed even more ego, especially when Jones also offered the following in his conversation with Morgan: “I take a lot of pride in the way I perform, and I want to put on the best performance possible every time I fight. I don’t want to go out there just to win the fight. I want to go out there to dominate. I want to make it look effortless. I want it to be a beautiful thing.”

Again, a nice sentiment, but the reality is that Jones is stepping into a locked cage to have a fist fight.

This isn’t ballet, this isn’t choreographed, it’s a fight. I get that he wants to have pride in his performance, but sometimes things aren’t going to be effortless, sometimes there are going to be obstacles to overcome and adversity to work through.

That’s when champions are made, that’s what champions and warriors do, they step up when asked to do so.

*Dana White quotes obtained first-hand from media call.

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