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For those who may not follow the sport of MMA as closely as I do, UFC 151 is the first time in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship that a champion has refused to face an alternative challenger after an injury to his original opponent, forcing the organization to cancel a PPV event.
To back track a little, after challenger Dan Henderson suffered a torn ligament in his knee, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was offered two-time middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen, as a replacement for Henderson on the September 1 PPV event. Chael Sonnen (who we all know well by now) is just now coming up from 185 pounds. He said that not only would he face Jones in eight days, but that he’d even jump on a plane to Vegas and fight him that night if he was asked to. Yeah that also sounds to me like someone who wants a TITLE … bad!
[smartads]
But Jon Jones has refused to accept the fight stating: “I’m not fighting Chael Sonnen with 
eight days” notice? On top of that Jones’ trainer, Greg Jackson, told Jon Jones that taking the fight with Chael Sonnen would be the biggest mistake of his life.
Jonny “Bones” Jones refusal to fight has forced UFC prez Dana White to cancel the entire UFC 151 card! “This is probably one of my all-time lows as being president of UFC,” White said. Dan Henderson tried to train, he continued to work out and saw a doctor, but there was nothing we could do to save that fight, this has never happened in the history of the UFC, a guy who is a champion, and a guy who is supposed to be one of the best fighters in the world, pound-for-pound, refuses a fight. He went on to say, “Let me tell you, this guy (Greg Jackson) is a sport killer.”
In my opinion when you are a world champion, and one of the guys who is supposed to be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, you are supposed to step up and fight, anytime, anywhere, and in any place. Just like the beloved “Iceman” Chuck Liddell famously demonstrated. Jon Jones is a guy a lot of fans don’t like, and I don’t think this is going to make him any more popular or endear him to any more fans and much less other fighters who won’t be collecting a paycheck thanks to him.
Now according to the UFC website ticket refunds are available for UFC 151 at the point of purchase. But again the ones who really suffer are the fighters of UFC 151 on the Under Card. Jon Jones will still be able to drive his Bentley, Dana and the Fertitta brothers won’t have to cash in their 401k’s just yet, and we the fans will be over this fiasco soon enough. But the 20 other fighters on the UFC 151 Under Card who are working hard to support their families and build their careers are hurt badly by this selfish decision, and in my opinion have every right to be. What most of us don’t know is that these fighters train on their own dime while working other jobs. They train to be at their peak shape for fight night. This costs them time, energy, coaching and money.
Jon Jones may be the champion, but right now he’s no role model. He may be fearless in the octagon, but outside of it he’s found lacking manly values.
For comparisons sake I highly recommend you head over to the Bleacherreport.com and read their article on 8 Fighters That Took Fights on Very Short Notice and Won!
Note: This is a guest article from one of our Fearless Men readers, Daniel, and he’s been an avid MMA follower since 2000 and enjoyed the first rivalry between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz.
If you liked this article you might also enjoy another one by Daniel.
Man Lessons Learned | Silva vs Chael Sonnen
It’s funny. This fight could have defined his career and turned around naysayers. Now instead, it’s defined his career, all right….
I’m not sure if it would have defined his career because a win over Sonnen should be easy for him. But it certainly has stained it now. The champion shouldn’t expect to always dictate when he fights and who the challenger is.
I’m more of a hockey/football/baseball follower than MMA, so keep that in mind. I don’t really know why Jones refused the fight (other than not wanting to lose? Being a wimp? Being chicken sh*t?), but it does suck. As a champion, he should be ready to fight at any time. And if you know you’re gonna lose, then you should fight anyway so that the real champion can take the title. It’s all about honor and respect. Sure, Sonnen wasn’t who he was supposed to fight at first, but that’s how life goes. Things change, and sometimes they change fast. If you’re a champion, that should be something you can handle.
TB, you hit the nail on the head. I definitely agree with you that a Champion should be ready to fight anywhere, anytime and any challenger. If you can’t take the heat then you’re not worthy of being called Champion.
I actually respect Jones for his decision. Sure he screwed over the fighters on the undercard as well as the fans, but why should he be forced to take a loss? The champion should have every right to refuse a fight when offered at such short notice. Fighting Sonnen is completely opposite of what he had spent time training for. I’m sure he’d be willing to fight him with more notice to train for a southpaw, high-level wrestler. They treat the MMA athletes like shit, paying them peanuts compared to other sports. Meanwhile the owners are raking in the cash. If they want to be treated better, they need people like Jones standing up for themselves.
I think one of the most important facts that is forgotten is that Jones got his first title shot when Evans was injured and Shogun Rua, the Champion, accepted the short notice fight. This was UFC 128 and although it was 6 weeks notice and not 8 days Jones now shows he doesn’t return favors.
The Champions and main card fighters get paid pretty good. For his last title defense Jones made $400k. Evans, the challenger, got $300k.
For UFC 151, Jones did take to Tweeter to accept responsibility and apologized to the other fighters and fans. He also mentioned that he offered to fight September 22nd instead but ultimately he decided to put his family and himself first. I can respect that decision if that is truly his decision alone to make. If we look back to how Martial Art Masters were challenged it wasn’t when they felt like it or when their family could handle it. It was usually decided by the challenger dictating a fight now or at a certian time and place. The Master is ready to fight any challenger, anywhere, any time and any place. Is MMA different? It can be, but the Owner and majority of fans agree that it’s not the Champions decision. Given the facts that we know right now I think he should hand over the belt or defend it.
Good point about martial arts roots. Back then though it was primarily people fighting the same discipline. These days though fighters are so well rounded and are very strong in certain disciplines. So it is a lot tougher suddenly taking on someone different than what you had been training for.
By Jones offering Sept 22nd, he is willing to return the favor and fight Sonnen with less time than Rua had to prepare for him.
The other thing to consider is how much of a loud mouth Sonnen is. If Jones were to lose, Sonnen would use that as verbal ammunition for years to come. I think losing a short notice fight would hurt his career a lot more than sticking up for himself and refusing the short notice fight.
As for giving up the title, how many champions have held onto their belt for a long time due to injuries popping up. It’s not like they were forced to fight through it knowing they’d likely lose.
That’s a good point on “the same discipline” and Sonnen being a loud mouth. One thing that I hadn’t thought of before is why Sonnen even got offered a title fight. It’s obviously a publicity stunt. He hasn’t fought his way to a light heavy weight title challenge. So while I still think Jones should of accepted and proved his dominance, I’m also thinking Sonnen shouldn’t of even received the opportunity. As for holding on to the belt while injured, they have to be injured and I think the limit is a year before an interim champion comes in. For example, Carlos Condit and now GSP has to fight him to determine the reigning champion.
In response to “Modest Money’s” comment about : ‘Fighting Sonnen is completely opposite of what he had spent time training for.’
Dan Henderson is predominately a wrestler who competed for the Olympics in Greco-Roman Wrestling, and is a NCAA Division I champ. Who fights out of Team Quest.
Chael Sonnen is also predominately a wrestler and a Olympic Alternate for Greco-Roman wrestling with NCAA Division I Wrestling credentials and what team does he fight out of?
Yup one in the same: Team Quest
The one thing that is different about these 2 fighters is: Hendo has the H-bomb in his right hand & Chael does not!
Training for a south paw is pretty different though. Also fighters can both be wrestlers but have drastically different fighting styles. Obviously they’d each have their own secondary strengths.