Well the hits just keep on coming. This afternoon the UFC opted to cancel UFC 151 in a shock move after Dan Henderson suffered a knee injury and Jon Jones would not fight Chael Sonnen on such short notice as the event’s new main event. It’s completely …
Well the hits just keep on coming. This afternoon the UFC opted to cancel UFC 151 in a shock move after Dan Henderson suffered a knee injury and Jon Jones would not fight Chael Sonnen on such short notice as the event’s new main event. It’s completely unprecedented and hopefully something that will never happen again.
We’ve heard that Chael Sonnen to step up to fight Jones for the belt. We’ve also heard that Chris Weidman offered to take the fight on short notice at 205.
Yes, Silva. The UFC middleweight champion who is notorious for being tough to deal with was willing to fight at light heavyweight.
The problem was that Silva was just a few hours too late and was unable to prevent the cancellation of UFC 151. It should be noted that Silva offered to fight any light heavyweight BUT Jon Jones.
This is just another small piece and another bizarre twist to an incredibly odd story. With so much having gone on behind the scenes, it’s possible that fans will never know how close or how far Dana White and company were from keeping UFC 151 on schedule.
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for more as this story continues to unfold.
They say truth is stranger than fiction. They were right.So everyone thought that a Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida rematch was a lock for UFC 152 in Toronto, right?On the media call (click here for the full audio transcript), Dana White said they were wai…
They say truth is stranger than fiction. They were right.
So everyone thought that a Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida rematch was a lock for UFC 152 in Toronto, right?
Enter Vitor Belfort (via MMAFighting), who has apparently been booked to face Jon Jones in Toronto on Sept. 22. Yeah, that came out of nowhere.
Looking past the utter bizarreness of that for a moment, I want to know what happened to that guy named Chael Sonnen who was ready to step in and save the day. Even Jon Jones said he would fight Chael Sonnen if it were to take place on Sept. 22 in Toronto.
Dan Henderson got hurt, and our fight was canceled. As difficult as it is to deal with everything that’s happened, I just didn’t feel like I had enough time to prepare both physically and mentally for a fight with a new opponent. I just didn’t feel I had enough to prepare properly and perform at my best. Whether Chael Sonnen actually deserves a title shot really isn’t my place to say. But if he wants to fight on Sept. 22, then I’m fine with that.
So how did we go from Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson to Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen to Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida II to Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort?!
UFC president Dana White’s refreshingly honest words on the UFC 151 cancellation were the only good thing concerning the whole debacle.No, they weren’t hot-headed, they were refreshingly honest and open. “This is probably one of my all-time lows a…
UFC president Dana White‘s refreshingly honest words on the UFC 151 cancellation were the only good thing concerning the whole debacle.
No, they weren’t hot-headed, they were refreshingly honest and open.
“This is probably one of my all-time lows as being President of the UFC over the last 11 years,” White began.
He then summarized Dan Henderson’s injury and addressed the reason why the card had to be canceled—Jon Jones refusing to defend his title:
One of the things that you guys have heard me brag about a million times, how UFC doesn’t have to cancel events, we can always find a replacement.
For somebody to fight Jon Jones on eight days’ notice is tough to do, but to be totally honest with you guys, one guy did. Not only when we called him did he say, ‘I’ll take the fight,’ he said, ‘I’ll fly to Las Vegas tonight and fight him,” and that was Chael Sonnen. Chael Sonnen accepted the fight with Jon Jones, wanted the fight bad. As of 8-9 o’clock last night, we had a fight. We here at the UFC started working, creating different commercials, PR started to crank up.
I was gonna do this call and obviously it was gonna be a different call this morning but the one thing that I never thought in a million years would happen, happened. Jon Jones said, ‘I’m not fighting Chael Sonnen with eight days notice.” Again, something that’s never happened in UFC history. A guy who’s a world champion and considered one of the pound-for-pound best turns down a fight. That has never happened either.
Jaded pundits and fans seek to bash White here for allegedly throwing Jones under the bus, especially when White said that he was “disgusted” and made accusatory remarks about how Jones essentially robbed the undercard fighters of their pay.
But in that situation, how can you maintain a level of candidness while anything else but that?
Jones is the UFC’s light heavyweight champion. As such, he’s obligated (or so one might think) to face all challengers that the UFC deems worthy.
When your champion reneges on this basic understanding of what it means to hold a title, how can you be anything but honest about it while not coming across as patronizing to the fans?
Yes, a Roger Goodell-like reaction that would’ve put even the most conservative PR intern to sleep would’ve been more “professional” but the UFC’s slogan isn’t “As real as it gets” for nothing.
Dana White’s reaction was from the heart. It was real, and it was visceral. Such behavior from White might put some people off, but it makes the UFC product that much more real and that much more alive.
If White’s off-the-cuff remarks were so bad, why did the UFC perpetually grow from Zuffa’s purchase of the company in 2001 and why did FOX decide to support the UFC?
Besides, the age of the cold, corporate, lifeless, monotone CEO is over. People respond better to free-speaking, casually dressed businessmen like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.
White’s sincerity gives the company an edge that no other in the sports world has. If he has to “bury” his own fighters or say things that overly sensitive Internet fans deem unpopular, so be it.
Fellow columnist Tim McTiernan wrote a great piece just a few hours ago detailing the immediate reactions from fighters when it came to the news of UFC 151’s sudden cancellation. Now that the dust has settled and the news has spread, a great many more …
Fellow columnist Tim McTiernan wrote a great piece just a few hours ago detailing the immediate reactions from fighters when it came to the news of UFC 151‘s sudden cancellation.
Now that the dust has settled and the news has spread, a great many more fighters are chiming in both in support of and against Jon Jones.
One of the most vocal, and well-regarded, supporters of Jones’ decision so far has been lightweight champion Ben Henderson.
So please quit disparaging my boy @jonnybones…it’s EASY to say u’d put it all on the line but he actually has & does…#respecthomie
What was once a highly anticipated event that featured Jon Jones defending his crown against the legendary Dan Henderson is now the first UFC event that has ever been officially cancelled.Henderson partially tore his MCL during training and had to…
What was once a highly anticipated event that featured Jon Jones defending his crown against the legendary Dan Henderson is now the first UFC event that has ever been officially cancelled.
Henderson partially tore his MCL during training and had to pull out of the bout. After proposing the fight to Lyoto Machida and having Jones decline a fight against Chael Sonnen, UFC president Dana White announced the cancellation of the whole event, scheduled for September 1st at the Mandalay Events Center in Las Vegas.
It is not all bad for all UFC fans, as there were some positives to look at.
Here are the winners and losers of the cancellation of UFC 151.
Jon Jones was on the fast track to become the biggest star in MMA. He had perhaps the best year of any fighter in 2011 by defeating three former champions and an Ultimate Fighter winner. Not only did Jones beat them but did so convincingly. 2012 hasn’t…
Jon Jones was on the fast track to become the biggest star in MMA. He had perhaps the best year of any fighter in 2011 by defeating three former champions and an Ultimate Fighter winner. Not only did Jones beat them but did so convincingly.
2012 hasn’t been as kind to the UFC champion. Jones saw his image with the fans come under intense scrutiny during the lead up to his showdown with Rashad Evans prior to UFC 145, and saw it stained after crashing his customized Bentley after drinking.
Now Jones has become perhaps the most hated man in MMA after refusing to fight ChaelSonnen on short notice following the injury to Dan Henderson. Not only has Jones made almost every fan upset, he’s also damaged his relationship with his boss.
Jones has made a PR nightmare in the past for removing himself from the initial fight with Evans for a surgery on which he later changed his mind. Just as the past came to haunt Jones in his rivalry with his former teammate, so too now will it with his recent decision making.
An interview Jones did prior to meeting Evans at UFC 145 paints a very different picture of the champion from when it seemed to be nothing but smooth sailing ahead for Jones.
The champion was asked about his sponsorship with the UFC’s clothing line and how it was a great step forward for Jones.
“We came up with a strategy to keep it clean and be sponsored by the UFC itself. I’m glad the UFC wanted to work with me as well, and I think that they trust that I’ll never make them look bad. You never have to worry about me with a DWI (driving while under the influence) or doing something crazy,” Jones explained. (MMAWeekly)
So this close-up is considered keeping a clean image for yourself and not making the UFC look bad?
Getting pulled over for being intoxicated is something that happens to thousands of people every day in the USA. It’s become so ingrained into our culture it’s almost become something we just say in passing.
Jones didn’t make the UFC as a promotion or its brand look bad by crashing his car but definitely failed to protect the promotion’s image today by refusing to step in and help the company out after the UFC has invested millions of dollars into promoting him as “the next big thing.”
Once again Jones’ past comments make him look bad.
“I think I’m a good company guy. The UFC asks me to do anything and I always do it, and I never tell them no for anything. I’ve had to do more marketing than any other fighter because I say no to absolutely nothing. I don’t think most champs are like that.” (MMAWeekly)
In the same article, Jones even shares how the UFC structured the deal to help him out by giving him the potential to realize his dream of being sponsored by Nike.
“I think they realized I’m a company guy and they decided to sponsor me,” said Jones. “They put in the deal that if any mainstream companies come after this win that they will let me go, and I think that’s awesome.” (MMAWeekly)
Helping a single fighter grow and leaving the door open for Jones to drop the sponsor was very awesome of the UFC to do. And how does the UFC get thanked for their generosity?
By Jones becoming the ultimate flip-flopper in MMA by saying no to the UFC and in the process tarnishing the company’s image. How does it look to the general public that one of their champions doesn’t want to fight anyone that will damage his “brand?”
Apparently Jones has no issues with saying no when it’s beneficial to him because prior to this, the champion came out to say he didn’t want to fight LyotoMachida because of the low PPV numbers from their first encounter.
Did Georges St. Pierre say no when the UFC matched him up against Dan Hardy or Matt Hughes for the third time? Did BJ Penn say no when he faced Diego Sanchez after only two wins in the division (with one being a split decision)? Did Junior dos Santos tell the UFC no when Frank Mir was inserted into the title picture with a questionable record?
The answer to all of those is “no.” Sure champions have discredited their challengers as not being worthy, but in the end they took the fight. Those men are considered “true fighters” and were/are willing to defend their hard earned titles to anyone who dared to try and take it away.
When the UFC came calling to ask Jones to do a favor for them after all they had done for the champion they were met with refusal. I’m not sure what Jones considers being a “company man” to be nowadays, but if this is it, Nick Diaz should’ve won “Employee of the Month” last October.
It’s one thing to look out for your own personal interests, but don’t attempt to feed everyone a bunch of lines to make yourself appear to be the knight in shining armor. It appears that the anti-Jones crowd just got a lot louder with the addition of Dana White.
Well the hits just keep on coming. This afternoon the UFC opted to cancel UFC 151 in a shock move after Dan Henderson suffered a knee injury and Jon Jones would not fight Chael Sonnen on such short notice as the event’s new main event. It’s completely unprecedented and hopefully something that will never happen again.