Tag: UFC 151

Chael Sonnen Exclusive: UFC Champion Jon Jones Is a Delusional Brat

Although the official record book still reads “Jon Jones,” Chael Sonnen feels like the light heavyweight division has a new kingpin. Jones turned down a fight with the former middleweight contender, making Sonnen, in his mind, the top fighter in the we…

Although the official record book still reads “Jon Jones,” Chael Sonnen feels like the light heavyweight division has a new kingpin. Jones turned down a fight with the former middleweight contender, making Sonnen, in his mind, the top fighter in the weight class.

“When I decided to go after the light heavyweight championship, I knew that I’d win it like I always do,” Sonnen told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. “I just didn’t know it would be by forfeit. But I do stand before you today the light heavyweight champion.”

It has been a whirlwind 24 hours for Sonnen, who was offered and immediately accepted a fight with Jones after his training partner Dan Henderson suffered a serious knee injury. Jones refused the bout, but Sonnen seemed unconcerned.

“I’m in the same position today as I was yesterday,” Sonnen said. “The fight’s going to happen sooner or later. It’s not like I’m not going to beat this guy up. It’s just a matter of when. My biggest concern isn’t with the fight or myself at all. My biggest concern is with Dan Henderson and his health. I have a personal relationship with him. I know his kids and how much he loves playing with them, so I just hate to see the guy’s health in any kind of jeopardy.”

According to UFC President Dana White, Jones turned down the Sonnen bout after discussing the contest with his trainer Greg Jackson, who advised the champion that facing Sonnen on short notice would be “the worst mistake of your career.” Although the advice may have cost Chael a high-profile title shot, he respects Jackson’s devotion to his student.

“I really think quite highly of Greg Jackson. You have to understand his opinion and influence on Jon is earned,” Sonnen said. “Jon respects him. He earned that. I understand there are repercussions for Coach Jackson, but that’s what he’s hired to do. He’s not an employee of the UFC. He’s a coach and he gave the advice to his athlete—I respect that. I think we should respect that he spoke his mind to his athlete that trusts him.”

It’s a different mindset, though, from the one Sonnen grew up in the sport around. A product of Team Quest in Portland, Oregon, Sonnen saw his mentors refuse to back down, even going from middleweight to heavyweight to fight the best in the world. It was an attitude that rubbed off on Sonnen, who prides himself in only fighting the best of the best.

“I don’t know the mindset or who’s around (Jones). I only know who’s around me. Dan Henderson, Matt Lindland, Randy Couture. These are the guys who molded me not just physically, but mentally,” Sonnen said. “They would fight anybody, any time, anywhere. Some people mean it when they say that.

“I’m from that same mold. I’d never disrespect those guys that gave so much to me by being the first one from our group to back down. And I never say that to sound like a tough guy. I say that because I think it’s really important that you’re never a bully in this sport. I hate them so much.

“I have this stigma of being a trash talker, but my only goal was to bring these bullies down. I never picked on anybody who wasn’t No. 1 in the world. When I went after Wanderlei Silva, he had an aura around him that he couldn’t be beat. When I went after Anderson (Silva), when I went after Paulo Filho, the Nogueira brothers, (Lyoto) Machida. If they were in my cross hairs, they were a No. 1 guy that everyone else was sidestepping.

“They are all a bunch of punks and bullies and I will never be one. The only litmus test I have for myself—am I willing to fight anybody? When the day comes that I won’t fight somebody, I won’t fight anybody. If there is someone out there that makes me go ‘I’m not fighting him,’ then I’m not going to fight anyone anymore.

“That’s what bullies do. Bullies pick and choose who they get in fights with based on who they think they can beat. I will never, ever do that. When the day comes that I back down, I will quit this sport.”

Sonnen made it clear he wasn’t letting the fight go. He still intends to fight Jones—it’s just been delayed a bit. To Chael, it was a huge mistake on Jon’s part not to take the fight now.

“This was his biggest opportunity. There’s no question I could beat Jon Jones,” Sonnen said. “Jon Jones can beat me too. But I can beat him. If you ever wanted to stack the deck in his favor, you’d have done it on September 1. You’d have called me out of the blue, switched weight classes on me, put me on a plane to do a press tour, put me everywhere in the world except in the practice room. That was the opportunity he had. I could have beaten him, but he could have beaten me too.

“The next time we meet up, when I’ve had a camp and my coaches around me, that’s not going to be the case. It’s really important to win these fights, and the world saw me lose a fight. I fell down. I’m not going to fall down again.”

Sonnen is scheduled to fight Forrest Griffin in December. But before he moved on to Griffin, he had a final word or two for Jones, who has recently started discussing his business acumen in the press.

“Jon Jones is a delusional brat,” Sonnen said. “He talks of being a businessman?! What?! What risks did he take? What capital did he raise? Where exactly is his office located? How many people does me employ? Hey JJ, put me on the phone with your secretary… Oh wait, what?”

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Michael Bisping Takes a Shot at Jon Jones on Twitter in Wake of UFC 151 Fallout

UFC 151, originally set to go down on September 1, has been canceled due to an injury suffered by Dan Henderson.The event could have been saved when Chael Sonnen accepted the offer to supplant Henderson as the opponent to Jon Jones, but Jones declined …

UFC 151, originally set to go down on September 1, has been canceled due to an injury suffered by Dan Henderson.

The event could have been saved when Chael Sonnen accepted the offer to supplant Henderson as the opponent to Jon Jones, but Jones declined that fight, citing the short-notice of opponent-change as his reasoning.

Someone who knows a thing or two about taking on Sonnen with a week-or-so’s notice is middleweight contender Michael Bisping.

Bisping had been tapped to take on jiu-jitsu star Demian Maia at UFC on FOX 2 earlier this year, but was asked to swap opponents when Mark Munoz went down with an injury. Chris Weidman stepped in for Bisping against Maia, and the Brit slid in to face Sonnen.

There’s a lot of stepping up to the plate in that scenario—all four guys had fights they didn’t know they would have until about two weeks before the fact, Weidman not even knowing he had a fight to begin with.

Unfortunately, Jones refused to follow in the footsteps of this quartet of middleweights, and Bisping for one, is not impressed.

The Count took to Twitter to remind fans that accepting such a fight would not have been all that crazy of an idea, referencing his own experience as precedent:

“Jones said he’s not fighting chael on 8 days notice. I did. …. Just sayin”

This isn’t the only backlash Jones has received for his decision, nor is it likely to be the end of it.

Fellow fighters, the UFC brass and fight fans have collectively expressed their disgust at Jones’ choice, and as Bisping points out, not without good reason.

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BREAKING: UFC 151 *Canceled* After Dan Henderson Pulls Out With Knee Injury; Jones Turns Down Sonnen, Dana White Incredibly Pissed Off


(Jon Jones is now the UFC’s public enemy #1. Does that mean we can come out of hiding now? / Photo via MMAJunkie)

The rumors were true — and even worse than we thought. Due to a knee injury suffered in training, Dan Henderson has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled light-heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 151, and because the UFC couldn’t find a suitable main event replacement, the UFC is canceling an event for the first time in the Zuffa era. Dana White confirmed the news in a press conference held earlier today — describing the cancellation as “probably one of my all-time lows as being president of the UFC” — and he made no attempt to hide his heated emotions during the call. Here are the brass tacks…

– Henderson suffered a partial tear in his MCL during training, which was serious enough to keep him from competing.

– According to Dana White, Chael Sonnen immediately jumped up to take the fight (“I’ll fly to Vegas tonight and fight him,” White quoted Sonnen as saying), and the UFC immediately began preparing behind-the-scenes to promote Jones vs. Sonnen on eight days’ notice. But Jon Jones turned down the matchup, refusing to fight Sonnen on short notice.

– White is extremely upset that Jones, a UFC champion and pound-for-pound candidate, would turn down a fight that would save an event. Even Tito Ortiz never pulled this shit, he pointed out. White lambasted the idea that Jones would turn this fight down for business reasons. “If he was a businessman, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now,” he said. White agreed that his relationship with Jones would change “a lot” after this: “Me and Lorenzo are both disgusted.” Later in the call, White pointed out how Jones turning down the fight now screws all the supporting-card fighters out of paychecks.

– White saved additional venom for trainer Greg Jackson, who reportedly told Jones, “There’s no way you take this fight on eight days notice, it would be the biggest mistake of your entire career.” Said White: “How much faith do you have in your champion and your guy? [Jackson] is a fucking sport killer. This guy’s from another planet….Greg Jackson should never be interviewed by anybody ever again, except by a psychiatrist.”


(Jon Jones is now the UFC’s public enemy #1. Does that mean we can come out of hiding now? / Photo via MMAJunkie)

The rumors were true — and even worse than we thought. Due to a knee injury suffered in training, Dan Henderson has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled light-heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 151, and because the UFC couldn’t find a suitable main event replacement, the UFC is canceling an event for the first time in the Zuffa era. Dana White confirmed the news in a press conference held earlier today — describing the cancellation as “probably one of my all-time lows as being president of the UFC” — and he made no attempt to hide his heated emotions during the call. Here are the brass tacks…

– Henderson suffered a partial tear in his MCL during training, which was serious enough to keep him from competing.

– According to Dana White, Chael Sonnen immediately jumped up to take the fight (“I’ll fly to Vegas tonight and fight him,” White quoted Sonnen as saying), and the UFC immediately began preparing behind-the-scenes to promote Jones vs. Sonnen on eight days’ notice. But Jon Jones turned down the matchup, refusing to fight Sonnen on short notice.

– White is extremely upset that Jones, a UFC champion and pound-for-pound candidate, would turn down a fight that would save an event. Even Tito Ortiz never pulled this shit, he pointed out. White lambasted the idea that Jones would turn this fight down for business reasons. “If he was a businessman, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now,” he said. White agreed that his relationship with Jones would change “a lot” after this: “Me and Lorenzo are both disgusted.” Later in the call, White pointed out how Jones turning down the fight now screws all the supporting-card fighters out of paychecks.

– White saved additional venom for trainer Greg Jackson, who reportedly told Jones, “There’s no way you take this fight on eight days notice, it would be the biggest mistake of your entire career.” Said White: “How much faith do you have in your champion and your guy? [Jackson] is a fucking sport killer. This guy’s from another planet….Greg Jackson should never be interviewed by anybody ever again, except by a psychiatrist.”

– Though Lyoto Machida was considered for a replacement opponent for Jones, Machida was flying back to Brazil when all this went down, and it simply wasn’t possible from a timing perspective. “I can accept why Machida didn’t take the fight,” White said.

– Now, Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida is scheduled for UFC 152 (September 22nd, Toronto). Or actually, UFC 151, since UFC 151 never happened. (Thanks to Ariel Helwani for that important clarification.) “I can tell you right now, [Jones] ain’t turning down the Machida fight. If he does, we’re gonna have another conference call this afternoon.” [*cue spooky music*]

– There wasn’t enough time to consider other options like putting the PPV on free TV. Dana White disagreed with the suggestion that the event would still go on if it had a stronger co-main event.

– Our suggestion of having Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg step in to headline the card with a 140-pound superfight was politely ignored.

Jesus, what a fiasco. We’ll update you when we get Jones’s reaction to this mess.

UFC 151 Canceled: Is Jon Jones a Coward for Not Taking the Chael Sonnen Fight?

Jon Jones has refused to take a fight with Chael Sonnen on eight days notice according to Dana White on a media conference call—and that’s not something a champion should ever do.A champion should fight all comers rather than pick and choose oppo…

Jon Jones has refused to take a fight with Chael Sonnen on eight days notice according to Dana White on a media conference call—and that’s not something a champion should ever do.

A champion should fight all comers rather than pick and choose opponents.

Now, fighters like Jon Jones (and recently Anderson Silva) are finagling their way around fights for one reason or another, forgetting that the belt is a symbol for dominance and courage rather than a means to securing bigger sponsors. 

Jones’ recent career faux pas is the most egregiously bad example of a champion choosing not to defend his belt in the sport’s history. 

Dan Henderson injured his knee, Chael Sonnen stepped up to the plate, and Jones—in a moment that will live forever in infamy—refused to take the fight against Sonnen (or any fighter) on eight days notice.

This is at worst cowardly, and at best aloof. 

Could you imagine if an NFL team refused to play another team due to a sudden roster switch? That wouldn’t fly in the NFL and Jones choosing not to defend his belt shouldn’t fly in the UFC. The situation makes the UFC look horrendous and, I dare say, bush league.

Furthermore, it shows abysmal financial/public relations acumen by Jones and his management. 

Yes, taking a fight on eight days notice is a risk and Jones could lose some of his value or vaunted sponsorships with a loss, but the downside to taking the fight is nowhere near as bad as the downside of not taking it. 

MMA fans are notoriously vindictive and outspoken. Now, since Jones didn’t take the fight, he’ll forever be known by fans as a coward and as the guy who ducked Chael Sonnen; he’ll be a paper champion now and always.

Also, infuriating one’s bosses is also a bad move to make; Zuffa’s relations with Jones will be soured for quite some time due to this incident.

Ultimately, a UFC title belt is something that signifies you’re the best in the world at that weight class. It’s something to be defended to prove you’re the best, not something to be protected or hide behind whilst using it to guarantee bigger pay days.  

Jon Jones is guilty of violating this sacred truth of MMA and in doing so destroying his reputation as a fighter and champion for the rest of time.

 

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UFC 151 Cancelled After Dan Henderson Withdraws With Torn MCL

The rumor mill had been running rampant leading up to UFC 151 regarding Dan Henderson’s health, with the fighter ultimately being forced to withdraw from the fight, forcing company owner Dana White to cancel the entire pay-per-view.The 41-year-old MMA …

The rumor mill had been running rampant leading up to UFC 151 regarding Dan Henderson’s health, with the fighter ultimately being forced to withdraw from the fight, forcing company owner Dana White to cancel the entire pay-per-view.

The 41-year-old MMA veteran was supposed to be in the main event match for the event against none other than Jon Jones in one of the more high-profile UFC fights in recent time.

Through all the rumor storm that lead to Henderson’s withdrawal, UFC owner Dana White kept quiet about his headline fighter’s health status until ultimately making the official announcement.

Via UFC’s official Twitter account, White gave the grim news to mixed martial arts fans, stating:

 

White explained that while Chael Sonnen did ask to take Henderson’s place in the main event, Jones refused to fight him after the advice Jones received from Greg Jackson. Here are the official quoted tweets from White explaining how this situation unfolded:

 

 

After explaining to his fan base the reasoning behind one of the toughest decisions he’s made in over a decade, White explained that the next pay-per-view will no longer be called UFC 152, instead it will be renamed UFC 151.

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UFC 151: Dana White Special Announcement Live Blog

UFC® PRESIDENT DANA WHITE TO MAKE ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING UFC® 151 Thursday, August 23, 2012—2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT Las Vegas, Nevada—The Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization will host a m…

UFC® PRESIDENT DANA WHITE TO MAKE ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING UFC® 151 

Thursday, August 23, 2012—2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT 

Las Vegas, Nevada—The Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization will host a media conference call today, Thursday, August 23, 2012 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT for a special announcement by UFC® President Dana White regarding the upcoming UFC® 151: JONES vs. HENDERSON event scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 1.

 

Follow Bleacher Report for live updates from the call. 

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