UFC 151

[Kris P Lettus]

War HENDO

[Big Vic]

Quite early?

[MoFo]

Yagin v Hominick was 1 of my fave fights last yr so rly wanna see him vs Siver

Rest of the card looks pretty lameee tho. Jones will blitz Hendo.

[Kris P Lettus]

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wkc7XTvN8Us" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Savio]

http://cagejunkies.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Jon-Jones-Suplex.gif

[CSL]

ruuuumours abound that Hendo is injured and could drop out

[MoFo]

Wonder if Machida will cash in his MITB on such short notice.

[Big Vic]

Machida should wait until after the match.
ruuuumours abound that Hendo is injured and could drop out
On wiki someone was trying to say Sonnen would take his place.

[Big Vic]

He's apparently fine though:
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/sports/boxingmma/mma-rumors-dan-henderson-injured-planning-drop-out-ufc-151

[CSL]

one of the guys Hendo mentioned in the tweet about that training session hasn't actually seen him recently, Kenny Florian said "Hearing that we may have some disappointed @ufc fans soon due to some unfortunate circumstances for an upcoming card" and Dana White just called a "special conference call" in about 10 minutes time regarding UFC 151. Could be completely unrelated of course but rumours be rumours.

[Big Vic]

one of the guys Hendo mentioned in the tweet about that training session hasn't actually seen him recently, Kenny Florian said "Hearing that we may have some disappointed @ufc fans soon due to some unfortunate circumstances for an upcoming card" and Dana White just called a "special conference call" in about 10 minutes time regarding UFC 151. Could be completely unrelated of course but rumours be rumours.
Maybe Dana just wants to tell everyone to keep up the good work.

[CSL]

the whole fight is off, Hendo has a partial MCL tear

[CSL]

shitttt

[CSL]

hold on, is he saying that 151 entirely is off?

[CSL]

lol shit, Chael Sonnen offered to get on a plane last night and take the fight on 8 days notice. And Jon Jones turned the fight down

[CSL]

Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida on the 22nd September at 152

[CSL]

Dana is pisseddd at Jon Jones right now

[CSL]

lol just called Greg Jackson a "sport killer"

[Big Vic]

lol shit, Chael Sonnen offered to get on a plane last night and take the fight on 8 days notice. And Jon Jones turned the fight down
I would too it takes more than a week to switch up the style you are practicing for.

[Big Vic]

Dana is pisseddd at Jon Jones right now
Why for not wanting to fight a new guy on 8 days notice? can't blame him for that. The should have just stuck Hamill in there though let Jones avenge his "loss"

[CSL]

because the whole show is cancelled, a champion has never turned a fight down, "Tito was the most hassle to work with and even he didn't turn fights down"

[CSL]

152 is now UFC 151

[CSL]

suckssssss for every other guy on the card that's been training for months now

[CSL]

lollll "Todd Grisham from ESPN now on the phone"

[CSL]

and now Meltzer

[CSL]

Hendo was trying to get in touch with Dana over the weekend, couldn't get hold of Dana 'til Monday, tried to work through the injury, bought him out to Vegas to see the UFC doctor, confirmed the tear, probably could have fought through it but would have been in great pain, even from top position

[CSL]

all tickets will be refunded, "hopefully flights are refundable or can be switched to Toronto or wherever you like"

[CSL]

apparently this all went down an hour ago, Jon Jones pretty much refused to fight anybody else

[CSL]

lol Dana keeps referring to Jones as "SUPPOSED to be one of the top pound-for-pound fighters" with such disdain

[Big Vic]

apparently this all went down an hour ago, Jon Jones pretty much refused to fight anybody else
The source I read said no one wanted the fight except Chael and Jon turned Chael down.

[CSL]

basically said Jones isn't liked too much as a champion and that he and Lorenzo are "disgusted" with him

[CSL]

The source I read said no one wanted the fight except Chael and Jon turned Chael down.

everything I'm writing is coming live from Dana White's mouth

[CSL]

putting Chael over like a beast

[CSL]

lol Chael told Dana he'd "fight him tonight" in any casino they can find

[CSL]

ahahaha "by Friday I think Chael Sonnen would have convinced most of us he was going to win"

[CSL]

"good for you Jon Jones, you're rich and you don't need this fight but there are a ton of guys on the undercard..." etc

[CSL]

"I can tell you this, he ain't turning down the Machida fight. If he does, I can tell you now we'll have another media call this afternoon"

[CSL]

"I can't make anybody take a fight. You're either a fighter or you're not"

[CSL]

caller said Greg Jackson was just on Mauro Ranallo's radio show saying he doesn't understand Dana's comments. Dana: "I don't understand Greg Jackson's entire business plan, I don't give a shit what Greg Jackson has to say" and then 3 or 4 more comments ripping him to pieces including "he needs to see a psychiatrist"

[CSL]

and that was the end of the conference call. Innnnnnteresting

[CSL]

Chael Sonnen is a full on babyface now for sure

[Innovator]

michael ‏@bisping
Jones said he's not fighting chael on 8 days notice. I did. .... Just sayin

[Big Vic]

Wikpedia is going nuts right now saying Jones will face Silva, Fedor, Putin, Dana White, Sub-Zero.

[Big Vic]

Dana is just mad he lost some money. The kid fought 4 times a year for Dana in 2011. more than any fighter I can remember, wants to delay a fight and Dana tries to rip him apart.

[Krimzon7]

TPWW Beat Writer, CSL!!!!!!

[CSL]

Dana is just mad he lost some money. The kid fought 4 times a year for Dana in 2011. more than any fighter I can remember, wants to delay a fight and Dana tries to rip him apart.


they cancelled the entire event. That's paychecks that now won't go to multiple multiple multiple people that need them to live on and not just fighters. You think Shane Roller on the Facebook prelims or one of the camera guys can afford to have this fight cancelled?

[Innovator]

Seriously, now they're 17-19 other people who won't get paid thank to Jones.

[CSL]

and Dana didn't try to do anything. He succeeded in tearing him to shreds.

[Innovator]

And that's just the fighters, nevermind the venue.

[CSL]

and it's a bit naive also for the sentiment that Dana shouldn't be pissed off about their own money loss, when you're president of a company that has sunk millions of dollars into promoting an event (not to mention you're basically the poster boy given the first fighter to ever be sponsored by the UFC brand itself) and the entire thing is simply scrapped despite their being a way out and ready made excuse/almost guaranteed rematch if you lose? Unless there's something we aren't hearing, Jon Jones dropped the ball here

[Big Vic]

Dana canceled the card though. Jones didn't. He could have just made it free on FX if he was fearing low buys, or stick another Main event in there.

Switching training from someone who has great stand up to someone who is great on the ground in 8 days? When you have the title? I would have turned that shit down too.

[Big Vic]

and it's a bit naive also for the sentiment that Dana shouldn't be pissed off about their own money lossNo i agree I'd be pissed too.

[CSL]

what main event can be put together in 8 days? and I'm fairly sure scheduling something on TV isn't as simple as Dana phoning them and saying "hey FX, put our show on at short notice no matter what else you've got planned or what our deal is yeah?"

and bollocks. The guy is the champion. Just because he's been training for Hendo doesn't mean he's going to have suddenly forgotten how to defend takedowns. Chael hasn't even had a training camp and he'd have fought him within 24 hours. As I said, Jones had a ready made excuse and rematch right there if "the unthinkable" happened, he had nothing to lose. As it is, he now has the UFC, the fans, the broadcasters, fellow fighters, the media/tech guys and more annoyed with him and he kind of looks like a bitch (I don't think this is the case, Dana seemed to make it pretty clear he's listening to Greg Jackson) If this was an undercard fight or the co-main then yeah, fair enough. But his name is on the marquee, he's the champion. He needed to step up here.

[Big Vic]

what main event can be put together in 8 days? and I'm fairly sure scheduling something on TV isn't as simple as Dana phoning them and saying "hey FX, put our show on at short notice no matter what else you've got planned or what our deal is yeah?"
FuelTV plays the best of UFC/Pride for half of the day I'm sure they would have taken it. Even if they didn't stick, that shit on facebook.

and bollocks. The guy is the champion. Just because he's been training for Hendo doesn't mean he's going to have suddenly forgotten how to defend takedowns. Chael hasn't even had a training camp and he'd have fought him within 24 hours..(the rest was speculation)Chael was just in a training camp for a fighter who is similar to Jones. Chael would DEFINITELY have the edge as far as training goes.

[owenbrown]

Wikpedia is going nuts right now saying Jones will face Silva, Fedor, Putin, Dana White, Sub-Zero.

:lol:

[Kris P Lettus]

:'(

[Jordan]

Jon Jones is gonna get booed for the rest of his career. Son of a bitch. This only other hand only makes Chael that much better than everyone else. /Chael

[Next Big Thing]

Damn. Perfect week to finally get the Internet set up in my apartment. I have mixed feelings on this. On one hand, Jones should have taken the fight with Sonnen not necessarily because he owes something to Dana or the other fighters on the card, but because I don't see Sonnen being so different stylistically to Hendo that it would put him at a disadvantage to fight the guy on such short notice. Sonnen is less of a threat in terms of landing a KO and is probably too out of fighting shape to really out grapple Jones.

People were hating the guy before he did anything wrong, now after a DUI and this, he's pretty much Hollywood Hogan at this point.

[Kris P Lettus]

he was spposed to wear tthe new nike mma gear for this fight..

[NoJabbaNoBogRoll]

I'm really looking forward to seeing Jones lose, one of these days.

[Next Big Thing]

The UFC really needs to do less PPVs next year. By canceling the entire event, Dana White basically acknowledged that no one else on this card was worth the price of admission or a PPV buy. A year ago, the fight would have been scrapped, the co-main event would have become the main, other fights would have been bumped up and it would have been business as usual. Jake Ellenberger is not co-main event material. Zuffa kind of put themselves in this unprecedented position to be bent over by one fighter.

[MoFo]

Looks like all that shit Rashad said about him turned out true.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

UFC will make a shit ton of money now if Sonnen vs Jones happens down the line. Jones may realize that this could be a huge money fight down the line, as opposed to rushing it now.

[Next Big Thing]

It's hard not to like Chael, despite his gimmick. It's funny how Dana is able to manipulate narratives though. When Rashad needed an opponent last year, Chael offered to move up and fight him, but Dana laughed that off and said he needed real 205ers... We got Tito Ortiz. Now he wants to put Chael over because he's pissed at Jones when he knows damn well Chael on 8 days notice would have less of a chance to beat Jones than he would have Evans on three weeks notice with Rashad coming off a one year layoff and you can't say Dana was protecting the rematch with Anderson Silva because Sonnen fought twice after making the offer to fight Rashad.

[Savio]

I am going to guess that if Sonnen wins in Dec he will face Jones in March or April.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

I am going to guess that if Sonnen wins in Dec he will face Jones in March.

Nah.

He'll probably fight the winner of Shogun vs Gustafsson

[Savio]

Seriously, now they're 17-19 other people who won't get paid thank to Jones.Jones pulled a Dave Chappelle. Its too true though there is no other fight on the card worth buying, totally a one fight card.

[Next Big Thing]

he was spposed to wear tthe new nike mma gear for this fight..

Not gonna lie, I was looking forward to seeing that too.

[Kris P Lettus]

it was gonna be huge for the sport..

[Next Big Thing]

it was gonna be huge for the sport..

I agree 100%, which causes me to question Dana White's business savvy or at least his ego a little bit. Jones is the only champion on that roster who finishes fights in an exciting fashion and doesn't need Ed Soares to translate for him... plus he's only 25.

Why would Dana go out and absolutely bury him knowing damn well Jones already had a bit of an image problem? He said in that conference call he can't make fighters fight, but then said Jones ain't turning down the Machida fight. Blasting Jones like that and further hurting his marketability is a stupid move if you're not going to strip him of the title or even cut him.

Now, fans are pissed at Jones and the UFC still has to promote his fight on the 22nd against Machida and future fights with most fans hating his guts. Good luck with that. I doubt the people saying they can't wait to see Jones lose are going to throw down $50 in hopes that a guy Jones choked out and dropped like a sack of shit or anyone else he's already beaten will be the one to do it.

[Crimson]

Jones shoulda taken the fight. Like pointed earlier in the thread, Chael would take the fight on short notice too not just Bones. Plus Bones had the advantage of training this whole time..doubt Chael was training as hard as Bones these past few weeks.

I wonder if Bones knew the consequences if he didn't take the fight?

I agree about maybe less ppv's ..or something along those lines. Some of these cards are way too weak.

[Crimson]

I agree 100%, which causes me to question Dana White's business savvy or at least his ego a little bit. Jones is the only champion on that roster who finishes fights in an exciting fashion and doesn't need Ed Soares to translate for him... plus he's only 25.

Why would Dana go out and absolutely bury him knowing damn well Jones already had a bit of an image problem? He said in that conference call he can't make fighters fight, but then said Jones ain't turning down the Machida fight. Blasting Jones like that and further hurting his marketability is a stupid move if you're not going to strip him of the title or even cut him.

Now, fans are pissed at Jones and the UFC still has to promote his fight on the 22nd against Machida and future fights with most fans hating his guts. Good luck with that. I doubt the people saying they can't wait to see Jones lose are going to throw down $50 in hopes that a guy Jones choked out and dropped like a sack of shit or anyone else he's already beaten will be the one to do it.

Yea I don't agree with Dana being emotional and blasting Jones. He's being honest but is it best for business?

[Savio]

Listening to this phone conference, Dana sounds like a slime ball.

Interviewer "Couldn't you just have the card on regular TV?"
Dana "No we didn't have time"FX was airing the prelims Just hold the Event an hour earlier and play the main card instead of the prelims air the prelims on facebook.

Interviewer "You have had a lot of complaints about cards being too thin and one fight cards and this is and example of that. What do you have to say to those critics?"

Dana (dodging question)"we have never had a fighter refuse a fight"What if Chael wasn't available to fight? He still would have had to cancel the card even if Jones was like "give me anybody" because no one else wanted to fight.

Later:
Dana "Great Jon Jones you have a million dollars you don't need this fight but these other fighters do"YOU Canceled the card.

Later:

"I have a whole roster full of guys like Chael that will take a fight at a moments notice"So why not make one of those fights the main event?

Pretty much after listening to that conference call Dana was mad he didn't have another fight on that card worth PPVs buys that he could promote so he decides to blast Jones. There was absolutely no other fight on that card people cared about.

[Savio]

Apparantly There is a conference on Fuel tv right now but.....I can't see it because i dont have that channel :(

[Krimzon7]

what the mother fuck. I would love to see this conference

[Next Big Thing]

Yeah. I just listened to the full conference call. Dana always seems to make rash decisions and say dumb shit when he doesn't get his way.

It's like when he took Nick Diaz out of the main event against GSP for missing a pre-pre-fight press conference that wasn't open to the public only to end up having to put him back on the card as the co-main event because the projected buys went to shit and the fans complained only to have Diaz end up main eventing the thing after GSP was injured.

Same thing when he blasted Shogun for not taking the fight against jiu jitsu wiz Glover Teixera because... who the fuck is Glover Teixera!?... only to have Shogun put on the best fight of all the televised UFC on Fox fights against Brandon Vera, who stylistically was much more exciting of a match up than against a straight up jiu jitsu guy.

Or back in 2008 when he cut the entire AKA roster (including Fitch, Koscheck and Cain Velasquez) and said "fuck all of them" because they didn't agree to the merchandising deal he presented.

Or when he cut Nate Marquardt over the TRT thing and said on video he'd never fight for any promotion owned by Zuffa... Marquardt is the Strikeforce Welterweight champion now.

Or even when he buried Anderson after the fight in Abu Dhabi against Maia. It just doesn't seem to make much sense to publicly threaten or trash your biggest stars. Especially when you know you're still going to work with them because you need them. Some stuff should be kept in the room and handled behind closed doors.

[Krimzon7]

Dana is very butthurt in this call. I wanna see what he has to say after he has cooled his jets a little bit.

[Savio]

Yeah he sounded butthurt.
==========================
found a stream but its talking about surf boards :/

http://www.nowwatchtvlive.com/2012/07/fuel-tv-live-stream-watch-fuel-tv-online-fuel-tv-streaming-free/

[Next Big Thing]

Here's a link to the earlier call http://www.mmamania.com/2012/8/23/3263460/full-ufc-151-conference-call-audio-with-dana-white-ripping-jon-jones

[Next Big Thing]

Here's something my law school buddy brought up that Dana White probably leaves out when he discusses all the money lost and guys who will starve... promoters of major events get something called event cancellation insurance. It allows a promoter to recover at least the non-reimbursable expenses of an expense and at most 100% of the gross expected profit in case of cancellation due to non appearances of key individuals like Jon Jones or injury to marquee guys like Henderson. By making it seem like Jones refused to appear and he couldn't make him, they might be able to claim more and break even than they would if they ran the show.

If Bob Arum and a major concert promoter like Live Nation have it, they'd be crazy not to have it. It would be nice if someone would have asked Dana about that possibility on the conference call.

[Savio]

I totally agree, I think Jones should fight Sonnen provided Sonnen wins against Griffin. My biggest problem is Dana trying to rally everyone against Jones when he booked the weak card and it was his decision to outright cancel the event. If there was another big fight on this card (like if they moved Vera vs Dos Santos to this card) there wouldn't be this shit storm.

[Impact!]

Same thing when he blasted Shogun for not taking the fight against jiu jitsu wiz Glover Teixera because... who the fuck is Glover Teixera!?... only to have Shogun put on the best fight of all the televised UFC on Fox fights against Brandon Vera, who stylistically was much more exciting of a match up than against a straight up jiu jitsu guy.


Glover isnt a straight up Jiu jitsu guy, he's more like Shogun if anything. Really good striking, average wrestling, solid jiu jitsu. And lauzen v varner was the best ufc on fox fight.

[Savio]

Ducking a middleweight who just got KTFO one fight ago

On Thursday August 23rd 2012, Boner Jones was offered to fight small ass middleweight Chael Sonnen. Boner thought it'd be a good idea to selfishly decline that fight like a dumbass. So the retard cost the fans (some of us had fucking parties planned on that day you son of a bitch...now what asshole? Like pool parties with bitches in bikinis and shit? Fuck you Jones.) So anyways he declines this shit right? Tries to look like the hero with bald ass Greg Jackson behind him, that fucking tampon. Dana White goes all apeshit on these motherfuckers. Dude it was hilarious. Anyways Chael goes on ESPN like a half hour later and drops some bombs on that bitch. That shit was tight. And now we got Machida facing this bitch again...fucking Machida dude please dont let us down bro.

Greg Jackson responds to Dana:
http://www.sherdog.com/radio/Breen-Greg-Jackson-Responds-to-Dana-White-2729

[CSL]

michael ‏@bisping
Jones said he’s not fighting chael on 8 days notice. I did. …. Just sayin

TJ Dillashaw @TJDillashaw
I can’t believe a whole show was canceled because of Jon Jones!! He should have to relinquish his belt

Michael Chiesa @MikeMav22
@JonnyBones is a fraud. He’s all about his $$ but he won’t take a fight with @sonnench who would bring in WAY more $$? He’s scared, period.

Vinny Magalhaes @VinnyMMA
How to ruin an entire event #BonesKnows
Things that people learned today: Chael @sonnench is the man! A lot of people will be losing money. Jon Jones doesn’t give a shit.

Charlie Brenneman @SpaniardMMA
Me n @rick_story took a fight on 24 hrs norice!! Champ what?!?! @ufc
@JonnyBones u can send my check to PO box 198. EH NJ. Rent is due the first, so preferably by then. Thanks. @ufc

Mackens Semerzier @MackDaMenaceMMA
Cancel the whole damn event? What happend to “I’ll fight whoever the @ufc tells me to” or does that only apply to fighting “friends”?

Michael Chiesa @MikeMav22
99.999% of @UFC fighters will be “company men” and help our organization if needed. @sonnench is a company man, @jonnybones is selfish.

Ulysses Gomez @uselessgomez
Bones wouldn’t be taking the fight on “8 days notice” he’s been training for a fight for at least 8 weeks! Chael is same style as Hendo. But he said no?

Abel Trujillo @AbelTrujillo1
The news of UFC 151 cancelled is heartbreaking!!! Trying to stay positive that its Gods plan & not mine!!! Jon Jones is selfish For that!!!

john albert @UFCPrinceAlbert
I am so livid right now I was the biggest Jon jones fan but not anymore that guy is bad for the sport his fans and other fighters he doesn’t
Understand or forgot what it’s like being a lower ranked fighter like me or @JeffHougland who make pennies compared to him and fighting is
Our livelihood and we survive by fighting and all the hard work those 20 other fighters put in are goin to waste utterly discusted

Brock Jardine @BrockJardine
If u wanted to make money y wouldn’t u want to fight @sonnench who was just part of biggest ppv in @ufc history Really disappointed

[Innovator]

Ariel Helwani ‏@arielhelwani
Ok, maybe Chael is the only winner today. Speaking of which, this might be the greatest double turn since Hart/Austin at WM 13.

[Crimson]

lol Ariel, nice reference

[Savio]

Look at this awesome card:

<table class="wikitable"><tbody><tr><th colspan="9">Main Card (PPV)</th> </tr> <tr> <th>Weight Class</th> <th>Red Corner</th> <th>
</th> <th>Blue Corner</th> <th>Method</th> <th>Round</th> <th>Time</th> <th>Notes</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Light Heavyweight</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) Jon Jones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Jones_%28fighter%29) (c)</td> <td>vs</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Flag_of_Brazil.svg/22px-Flag_of_Brazil.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil) Lyoto Machida (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyoto_Machida)</td> <td>
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td><sup class="reference plainlinks nourlexpansion" id="ref_UFC_152">Note 1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_152#endnote_UFC_152)</sup></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Flyweight</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) Joseph Benavidez (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Benavidez)</td> <td>vs</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) Demetrious Johnson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demetrious_Johnson_%28fighter%29)</td> <td>
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td><sup class="reference plainlinks nourlexpansion" id="ref_UFC_152">Note 2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_152#endnote_UFC_152)</sup></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Middleweight</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_England.svg/22px-Flag_of_England.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England) Michael Bisping (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bisping)</td> <td>vs</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) Brian Stann (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Stann)</td> <td>
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Lightweight</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cf/Flag_of_Canada.svg/22px-Flag_of_Canada.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada) TJ Grant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TJ_Grant)</td> <td>vs</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) Evan Dunham (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Dunham)</td> <td>
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Light Heavyweight</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) Matt Hamill (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Hamill)</td> <td>vs</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Flag_of_Belarus.svg/22px-Flag_of_Belarus.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus) Vladimir Matyushenko (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Matyushenko)</td> <td>
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Featherweight</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) Cub Swanson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cub_Swanson)</td> <td>vs</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Flag_of_Brazil.svg/22px-Flag_of_Brazil.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil) Charles Oliveira (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Oliveira)</td> <td>
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="9">Preliminary Card (FX)</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Light Heavyweight</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Flag_of_Croatia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Croatia.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia) Igor Pokrajac (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Pokrajac)</td> <td>vs</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Flag_of_Brazil.svg/22px-Flag_of_Brazil.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil) Vinny Magalhães (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinny_Magalh%C3%A3es)</td> <td>
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Featherweight</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) Jimy Hettes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimy_Hettes)</td> <td>vs</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) Marcus Brimage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Brimage)</td> <td>
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Welterweight</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) Seth Baczynski (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Baczynski)</td> <td>vs</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Flag_of_Norway.svg/22px-Flag_of_Norway.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway) Simeon Thoresen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_Thoresen)</td> <td>
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="9">Preliminary Card (Facebook)</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Bantamweight</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cf/Flag_of_Canada.svg/22px-Flag_of_Canada.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada) Mitch Gagnon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_Gagnon)</td> <td>vs</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) Walel Watson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walel_Watson)</td> <td>
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Welterweight</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States) Charlie Brenneman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Brenneman)</td> <td>vs</td> <td>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b9/Flag_of_Australia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Australia.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia) Kyle Noke (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Noke)</td> <td>
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td align="center">
</td> <td>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bb/Machida_II.jpg/200px-Machida_II.jpg

[Krimzon7]

Helwani is the perfect nerd yo. He has the goofy clothes, the great job and the ability to have nerdgasms for paychecks!

[Savio]

Jones responds:
http://mmajunkie.com/news/30352/jon-jones-laments-loss-of-ufc-151-but-stands-behind-decision-to-turn-down-replacement.mma

[Krimzon7]

beat me to it. I'll just add my commentary. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS GUY SMOKING? Seriously, he has to know that he is selling this card and that his star power is pretty much the only juice on this card. You gotta do what you gotta do. Fuck him and this bitch ass excuse.

[James Steele]

I love this shit. I hope Dana gets bent over the barrel more often.

[AJ]

Jon Jones Made a Mistake: On "Business" and the Future of the UFC (http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/8/23/3264031/jon-jones-made-a-mistake-on-business-and-the-future-of-the-ufc)

[James Steele]

How is this all Jon Jones fault? He has every right not to accept a huge fight like that with such short notice and risk his growing empire. Dana White proves what an arrogant and unprofessional twat he is as well as finally humbling the son of a bitch and hopefully making him realize he isn't the fucking bookerman god he thought he was. Dana cancelled the entire card, not Jones. Dana is the one who booked a shitty ppv with only 1 drawing fight, not Jones. Jon Jones is a professional fighter who is building a brand with his name and image and this little blip won't matter while he keeps kicking ass. Remember when Anderson Silva was the most evil and pompous ass to ever walk the Earth awhile back after pulling his little stunts in fights? Last fight, he was Mr. Sportmanship and Mr. Respect.

[James Steele]

Dana can talk all the shit he wants, but as long as he wants to claim to be the one true MMA company, he doesn't have the balls or money to cut Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, or any other elite fighters who finally use the only leverage they have and refuse to be his bitch.

[The Show Off]

I totally agree James, I spent all night debating this shit with my friends. All of them think Jones is a bitch. I think Jones should put his own welfare first and it's not his fault a card went down it's the UFC's fault for having a card so weak that if it's main event goes down the whole card has to.

[The Show Off]

That all being said I'm disappointed not to see Jones/Hendo and I would have loved to seen Sonnen get destroyed by Jones, but I can't blame him.

[AJ]

Poor handling of the card by the UFC? Yes. Honestly though, I don't think Jones would have much trouble with a Chael Sonnen. Jones alludes to not being able to train and be prepared...yet he'd be facing a guy that would not be close to "fighting shape" as he is...even if he didn't get to spend a full camp preparing for Sonnen. Jones would definitely have the edge due to the fact he's been training and in fighting shape.

Jones takes the fight and wins...he builds goodwill with the UFC. He's a divisive fighter as is but taking a fight on 8 days notice to help save a card? Only builds goodwill with fans...with only goes on to further build his brand and help his career. And if for some reason he loses, he's guaranteed a rematch and has a built in excuse of having little time to train and fans would easily buy that excuse. Fair or not, he's now going to be the guy viewed as a "scared" champ...who screwed over 20 other fighters out of a paycheck (many whom probably can't afford for that to happen) cause of his "selfishness."

It's going to be interesting seeing the crowd response to Jones on the 22nd and in the future.

[James Steele]

It's not his job to worry about other fighters. That is Dana's job. This isn't pro wrestling, the "draw" is only responsible for winning or losing.

[AJ]

It's not his job to worry about other fighters. That is Dana's job. This isn't pro wrestling, the "draw" is only responsible for winning or losing.

That may be true, but fair or not, there will be plenty of people that will take that angle of Jones screwing the undercard out of a needed paycheck.

[CSL]

and it just doesn't stop. Machida turned down the fight against Jones

the main event of 152 is now Jon Jones vs.

http://media.ufc.tv/fighter_images/Vitor_Belfort/vitor_belfort_500x325_ufc.png

looking forward to that more than Jones/Machida, gotta say

[CSL]

Anderson Silva got in touch with Dana and offered to fight any available light heavyweight on 8 days notice not named Jon Jones to save the 151 card but it was apparently a few hours too late/after everything was "in motion". Crazy day.

[alvarado52]

Where did you read Belfort? I cant find the news anywhere.


Also, Silva should have fought Sonnen lol

[CSL]

it's everywhere, Vitor's Twitter, UFC's official Twitter, the major MMA sites etc etc

[alvarado52]

hmm. I was checking Cage Potato and saw nothing of it. I'm okay with it one way or another, I wasnt stoked for Machida/Jones I, let alone II.

[alvarado52]

Also, these dudes are all jokes. Youre the champ Bones, youre supposed to take on all comers, not run from someone who was gonna train for a week while youve been training for months.

As for Machida, you're the number 1 contender, you just got done with a easy payday, so you should be in shape and good to go...how are you gonna be the number one contender, then turn down fighting the champ?

Ridiculous.

[Savio]

Also, these dudes are all jokes. Youre the champ Bones, youre supposed to take on all comers, not run from someone who was gonna train for a week while youve been training for months.
That sounds so markish

[Savio]

Hopefully dana learn to not make 1 fight cards again.

[Krimzon7]

Bones vs Vitor? Amazing. I agree with the article posted above. This guy has ZERO earning potential without UFC. Building equity with the company and having a bit of foresight wouldn't hurt his management team.

He got some bad advice. He got some VERY bad advice.

[Jura]

It would be funny if all the top fighters turned down the fight with Jones and then some under the radar guy gets the bid and actually defeats him.

[Big Vic]

Is Dana gonna do a smear campaign against Lyoto now? :roll:

No?

So he only gets pissed when he makes a shitty card and the top star pulls out?

[Next Big Thing]

Maybe Dana should actually talk to guys and get them to agree to fighting on three weeks notice when they don't expect to fight again until the end of the year. Guys have training camps for a reason. Throwing Machida's name out there while he's flying home was an irrational move.

Belfort vs. Jones is a better look anyways.

[Big Vic]

This whole debacle really help stretch out the LHW title scene for another if Jones continues to win.

Jones vs Sonnen is going to be $$ now

[Innovator]

I saw Jones vs. Belfort on the ESPN ticker this morning and thought they screwed it up.

[Big Vic]

I wonder why they went with Belfort for 152 and not Chael though. Maybe there is more money in Jon fighting Chael later than Jon fighting him now.

[CSL]

Also, these dudes are all jokes. Youre the champ Bones, youre supposed to take on all comers, not run from someone who was gonna train for a week while youve been training for months.

That sounds so markish

what, of course it doesn't. That's pretty much spot on.

Is Dana gonna do a smear campaign against Lyoto now? :roll:

No?

So he only gets pissed when he makes a shitty card and the top star pulls out?

not even close to being the same thing

I wonder why they went with Belfort for 152 and not Chael though. Maybe there is more money in Jon fighting Chael later than Jon fighting him now.

that plus it would be kind of shitting on Mandalay Bay by taking that fight to Toronto on 3 weeks notice when the UFC want to keep them as sweet as possible. Not to mention Belfort would already have been in camp to fight Alan Belcher.

[Big Vic]

If you guys think Sonnen has been sitting on his ass all day playing with himself you are crazy.

To use an analogy this is like if Jones was a star baseball player on a shitty team owned by Dana White. Jones strikes out and now takes all of the blame by the owner when the owner should have recruited other players that could hold the weight if Jones fucked up.

[CSL]

what are you on about, Sonnen isn't fighting until the end of December, he's probably at least 6 weeks out from starting his training camp and he fought like a month ago. He would hardly be killing himself in the gym rn.

And bollocks. Yeah, the UFC is stretched thinner nowadays but the fact is the entire thing would have been avoided if Jon Jones manned up and took the fight. You can make all the excuses in the world for him but the fact is, he is a stupidly dangerous champion with a full camp behind him who turned down a replacement opponent who would have had 3 days "full training" at most, has never fought at 205 before and possibly still hasn't even recovered from his previous fight. Did he have every right to make that move? Absolutely. Doesn't make it any less of a shitty and bitch-looking move.

[Big Vic]

You are arguing a different point than I am making though, I can see why some people are saying he is a bitch (Not my opinion but I can see why others would state that).

However an ENTIRE card should not rest on his shoulders and Dana should not be blaming him for that.

[Krimzon7]

what are you on about, Sonnen isn't fighting until the end of December, he's probably at least 6 weeks out from starting his training camp and he fought like a month ago. He would hardly be killing himself in the gym rn.

And bollocks. Yeah, the UFC is stretched thinner nowadays but the fact is the entire thing would have been avoided if Jon Jones manned up and took the fight. You can make all the excuses in the world for him but the fact is, he is a stupidly dangerous champion with a full camp behind him who turned down a replacement opponent who would have had 3 days "full training" at most, has never fought at 205 before and possibly still hasn't even recovered from his previous fight. Did he have every right to make that move? Absolutely. Doesn't make it any less of a shitty and bitch-looking move.

I'm getting tired of agreeing with you goddammit. But all of this except for one thing. Chael has fought at 205 before, but this would have been his first foray in the UFC at LHW.

[St. Jimmy]

UFC 151 is the best UFC Show ever.

[CSL]

You are arguing a different point than I am making though, I can see why some people are saying he is a bitch (Not my opinion but I can see why others would state that).

However an ENTIRE card should not rest on his shoulders and Dana should not be blaming him for that.

why shouldn't it? He's the light heavyweight champion, one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world, potentially the most marketable fighter in all of MMA (see: Nike), a prodigy, a phenom, a once in a generation talent, he is exactly the kind of guy entire cards should be resting on the shoulders of. That's his bastard job now. And I don't necessarily think he's a bitch, I think he listened to bad advice. I don't think he's scared of Sonnen and I don't think he'd lose to Sonnen. He just made a really stupid decision.

[CSL]

I'm getting tired of agreeing with you goddammit. But all of this except for one thing. Chael has fought at 205 before, but this would have been his first foray in the UFC at LHW.

your boy Rashad is a bitch

[CSL]

can't even say that and not post something afterwards, big fan of Rashad :o

[Krimzon7]

your boy Rashad is a bitch

HOW DARE YOU!!! RASHAD IS A GOD YOU MOTHERFUCK......

can't even say that and not post something afterwards, big fan of Rashad :o

I see what you did there! :wave:

[Savio]

why shouldn't it? He's the light heavyweight champion, one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world, potentially the most marketable fighter in all of MMA (see: Nike), a prodigy, a phenom, a once in a generation talent, he is exactly the kind of guy entire cards should be resting on the shoulders of. That's his bastard job now.That would be like if Vince booked a Card like this:

WWE title: John Cena vs CM Punk
Tyler Reks vs Heath Slater
Alicia Foxx vs Kaitlyn
Jobber 1 vs Jobber 2

That is definitely a one fight card. No one cares about any other match. Injuries happen, Dana knows this, he had NO BACKUP PLAN if Jones didn't fight, no other attraction. You don't make shows like this, If Chael Said no he would have still been fucked.

Then who does he blame? Who?

[Crimson]

Hmm would be funny if Vitor got knocked out by a foot to the face again. I see this as a 1st round ko.

[CSL]

That would be like if Vince booked a Card like this:

WWE title: John Cena vs CM Punk
Tyler Reks vs Heath Slater
Alicia Foxx vs Kaitlyn
Jobber 1 vs Jobber 2

That is definitely a one fight card. No one cares about any other match. Injuries happen, Dana knows this, he had NO BACKUP PLAN if Jones didn't fight, no other attraction. You don't make shows like this, If Chael Said no he would have still been fucked.

Then who does he blame? Who?

the card was already hit by injury, Josh Koscheck was the other "marquee" name/card seller on the show. And just because you haven't heard or aren't interested in a lot of the guys on the show far from means that that goes for everybody, so to compare them to diva matches or jobbers or pro wrestling in general is pretty much absurd. And nobody was denying it was a one fight card but you're acting like this is the first instance of that in UFC history. Your entire argument/who does he blame/what if/no backup plan blah blah blah is completely and utterly irrelevant because there was a perfectly good/arguably better main event that would have done great numbers ready to go and only one man stopped that from happening. And that wasn't Dana White.

[Savio]

Its not irrelevant because its 100% true if Sonnen didn't step up then he would be fucked and would only have HIMSELF to blame.

The way Dana stated the timeline was


He found out from Hendo
Called everyfighter under the about it EXCEPT Jones looking for a replacement
Everyone says the can't do it except Chael
The next day he calls Jones out of the blue and says its A TITLE FIGHT

Why the fuck would that be a title fight? because Chael was talking shit on twitter?......That gets you a title fight now-a-days?



Dana should have called Jones first, talked to him (and as Jones/Gregs story stands right now they didn't want the fight because of different styles) and hear from him "Ok I'll take another opponent who style is similar to hendos"


INSTEAD OF


"Hey Jones guess what? Hendo is gone, Your fighting Chael now for the title"


ummmm what?

[Savio]

If they found some one who had a similar style to Hendo and Jones backed out I would not have liked that and could not defend him.

Although I would still blame Dana for the weak one fight card card.

[CSL]

Its not irrelevant because its 100% true if Sonnen didn't step up

this is literally how much of your response I just read. Guess why.

[Savio]

then he would be fucked and would only have HIMSELF to blame.

The way Dana stated the timeline was


He found out from Hendo
Called everyfighter under the about it EXCEPT Jones looking for a replacement
Everyone says the can't do it except Chael
The next day he calls Jones out of the blue and says its A TITLE FIGHT

Why the fuck would that be a title fight? because Chael was talking shit on twitter?......That gets you a title fight now-a-days?



Dana should have called Jones first, talked to him (and as Jones/Gregs story stands right now they didn't want the fight because of different styles) and hear from him "Ok I'll take another opponent who style is similar to hendos"


INSTEAD OF


"Hey Jones guess what? Hendo is gone, Your fighting Chael now for the title"


ummmm what?

[Savio]

My bad your right Dana was smart for making a shitty card.

[CSL]

good lord

[St. Jimmy]

Dana white is a Carny ass Carny and JBJ is 1980's Heel.

[Savio]

If I was Jones I would totally play up the heel role

[CSL]

he should embrace it, he should go Floyd Mayweather on everybody, he has the talent. Think he might "wanna be loved" too much tho, at least that's the impression you get from him

[Savio]

Yeah, and he pretty much makes it known he is about the money, He should start calling himself the best in the world and people would buy more PPVs hoping he loses.

[Next Big Thing]

With his talent, Jones would be an amazing heel. Problem is, Mayweather is natural at it. I don't think Jones is a natural heel as much as people just give him heat for everything he does. It seems like as soon as Jones won the title the fans turned. Plus, Mayweather has zero endorsements and gets 60%-75% of the PPV revenues from the events he headlines. Even though Dana is now putting cards together like a boxing promoter, I don't think the UFC revenue model for top guys is on par with boxings so Bones will probably still be a Cena-esque face.

His Nike shirts may as well just say "Rise Above" on them.

[Crimson]

haha that would actually fit him right now

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Does anyone know if Sonnen was part of Hendo's training camp for Jones? Because that's one thing I keep thinking. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Sonnen was helping Hendo train for Bones, which would have put Jones at a huge disadvantage. Basically, if Sonnen was helping someone train against Jones, while Jones was preparing for a totally different style of fighter.

Either way, I can't blame Jones.

[NoJabbaNoBogRoll]

Jones is certainly at fault here, since he was ready and able to fight.

However, once Koscheck got injured, the UFC should've started making contingency plans behind the scenes, to have a big name fight on standby. After all, Henderson and Jones could've both been injured in the build up, and we'd be in the same situation.

[James Steele]

Jones is certainly at fault here, since he was ready and able to fight.

However, once Koscheck got injured, the UFC should've started making contingency plans behind the scenes, to have a big name fight on standby. After all, Henderson and Jones could've both been injured in the build up, and we'd be in the same situation.


Just because he can fight doesn't mean he has an innate responsibility to be Dana's bitch and fight whoever Dana throws at him on short notice.

[owenbrown]

off-topic...there are some real douchebags out there editing these wikipedia pages

[Fignuts]

This whole debacle is ridiculous.

Dana White having another profanity laced tantrum. Very professional.

And people wonder why MMA isn't given the respect from the sports world that it deserves. Fucking circus act right now.

[James Steele]

This whole debacle is ridiculous.

Dana White having another profanity laced tantrum. Very professional.

And people wonder why MMA isn't given the respect from the sports world that it deserves. Fucking circus act right now.

Thank you!

[Next Big Thing]

Does anyone know if Sonnen was part of Hendo's training camp for Jones? Because that's one thing I keep thinking. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Sonnen was helping Hendo train for Bones, which would have put Jones at a huge disadvantage. Basically, if Sonnen was helping someone train against Jones, while Jones was preparing for a totally different style of fighter.

Either way, I can't blame Jones.

That's actually something I was starting to wonder about too. Greg Jackson has said that Chael was helping Hendo train and wasn't as out of shape as we would think, plus, Sonnen is cunning and I don't think he'd go into a fight against Jon Jones cold just to get knocked out or submitted early. Especially when you consider the fact that almost all of Sonnen's wins are grinders that go to decision, which means Sonnen is more than aware of the cardio he would need to win a fight against Jones.

Also, when you look deeper into it, Sonnen and Henderson aren't as similar as Dana made them out to be. In their last six fights, Henderson has 4 takedowns, Sonnen has 22 according to Fight Metric. Even if you compare their fights based on length, it's still evident that Sonnen is more likely than Hendo to shoot and get the takedown. You also have to worry about Hendo's knockout power in his right hand, Sonnen fights South Paw and has zero KOs in his career. Maybe Jackson was considering those things when he told Bones to decline the fight.

[NoJabbaNoBogRoll]

There's also the possibility that Jones and Jackson are bitches. Just something to consider.

[James Steele]

There's also the possibility that Jones and Jackson are bitches. Just something to consider.

...or they are smarter than every fighter before them who were either too dumb/afraid to stand up to Dana White and not be his bitch. Jon Jones is potentially the biggest brand in MMA and he needs to do everything possible to protect that. This shitstorm of bitching and moaning will blow over and Jon Jones will not be hurt that much in the end. The risk of fighting a fighter like Chael on such short notice isn't worth the risk just for the sake of covering Dana White's unprofessional, dumb, arrogant, twat promoter ass.

Dana is completely at fault for this. Everyone can bitch at Jon Jones and call him all the names they want, but this is going to help MMA fighters going forward when Dana tries to pull things out of his ass when things go to shit because he has spread UFC too thin. Dana is the one who is so incompetent he couldn't book a card with fights strong enough to bump one up to a suitable main event to keep a card from being scrapped. Dana is the one who throws bitch fits and plays circle jerk with his glorified lackeys who refuse to stand up to the dickwad promoter and then ask why UFC can't take care of its fighters more. Dana is the one who decided that UFC needs to oversaturate the market and leave himself with shitty to subpar cards that don't have enough star power or appeal to stay on the air when injuries happen in the process of training (it isn't like injuries in training are unfathomable). Dana is the one who threw shit to the wall and went public with multiple replacements before they were confirmed to be interested and then threw glorified toddler tantrums while showing that his tiny arrogant brain can't handle when fighters who don't need whatever bones (no pun intended) he throws at them just so they can feed their families doesn't ask "How high?" when Dana says "Jump, bitch."

[James Steele]

Dana has grown MMA into a sport of superstars, but he only has a handful of true superstars and they are starting to realize their power. Anderson Silva could pull the same shit he did a few years ago again in every single fight for the rest of his career, and Dana wouldn't have the balls to cut him because Anderson Silva is the best fighter in the world and is now an integral part of UFC's identity. Jon Jones could refuse every replacement Dana comes up with and there isn't shit Dana can do about it. UFC can't claim to be the best MMA company if they openly get rid of the best fighters in the world because they won't bend over the barrel on Dana's will.

Those handful of true superstars in MMA (read: UFC) have some pull now and that is how it is with every other sport. Why can NFL, NBA, and MLB superstars get caught doing drugs, drinking and driving, getting arrested for guns, etc but still have a following and still find a job? Because they are some the best in the world at what they do and they have a brand based on their abilities and following that enable teams to win, put butts in seats, and make money. UFC is no different and not immune to this. If you want to become one of the "big boy sports" then you have accept the realities of it. There is a reason why the NFL today is drastically different than it was in the 50s,60s,70s,80s,and 90s. As a sport/league grows and is prosperous, it is inevitable that the power and money will begin to trickle down and the suits start sharing the money and power with the ones who are the driving force behind that power and money. Of course, the suits have the ultimate advantage because athletes do break down and skills diminish over time. MMA is even more susceptible this because they are a "card/draw" based sport. So people come to see the fighters moreso than the UFC itself.

Look at T.O. in the NFL, he was the biggest prick in the NFL but he kept finding jobs and making huge money...until he couldn't play at a level worthy of putting up with his shit. Now, he has been cut from an Arena team he co-owned and is now a reserve WR for one of the worst teams in the NFL that is simply trying to get what money and talent they can out of TO's last years. In boxing, the leagues and everything don't mean shit. Its about the big name fighters. UFC has a strangle hold on MMA, but MMA could easily devolve into the clusterfuck that boxing is as rich mother fuckers who aren't glorified slimeball indy promoters see the potential of taking care of big name fighters who get tired of Dana's shit and just putting on fight cards when there is a draw instead of trying to establish a company brand that has damn near weekly cards and multiple realities shows throughout the world.

[Next Big Thing]

God damn Jimbo. I know you're from Texas, but that doesn't give you the right to not use paragraphs.

[Krimzon7]

I'll just ASSUME that there are some valid points in that giant wall of text. and, you did it TWICE!!!

[Crimson]

Machida is the real tard to turn down a title match. His camp begs for it and they turn it down. Bones has a better argument than Machida. No excuse for him

[Next Big Thing]

I'm kind of glad he did to be honest. Belfort is more appealing. Plus, it illustrates how ridiculous the UFC's on the fly match making can be. If Dana spoke to Machida before announcing that fight no one is the wiser. He wants MMA to be viewed as a legitimate sport, but sees nothing wrong with putting a guy in against the champion on 8 days notice or expecting someone who fought two weeks earlier to drop everything and put together a half ass training camp so he can fight again in a month.

Even in the time when boxing did rule the combat sports landscape in the 80s and 90s you never had promoters putting guys in against the champion at the last minute or expecting top contenders to fight in back to back months.

[CSL]

can't really compare it to boxing in that sense given the differences between the disciplines/ways to win, the monumental difference between the occurrence of training injuries, the "average time spent competing" etc.

[CSL]

lol from the pizza place Chael owns

http://ll-media.tmz.com/2012/08/25/0825-cheal-pizza-3.jpg

[James Steele]

Sorry about those walls of text. I sort of went on unintentional rants. They are fixed.

[James Steele]

lol from the pizza place Chael owns

http://ll-media.tmz.com/2012/08/25/0825-cheal-pizza-3.jpg

:lol: Ouch. When they do fight, it will be awesome.

[St. Jimmy]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m98z4p7bsr1rofdago1_400.jpg

[Savio]

If Dana spoke to Machida before announcing that fight no one is the wiser.Yeah Dana needs to learn how to do this.

[Savio]

Twitter Conspiracy theory: Hendo was injured 3 weeks ago and since Chael trains with him he started the twitter feud.

[Next Big Thing]

Apparently that's true:
“Dan Henderson got hurt three weeks ago during sparring when he went to defend a takedown and for a while he has to be away from training, for two to three weeks. It was very difficult for him to refuse the fight. All the team had to convince him not to do it. We did a final sparring yesterday to evaluate his condition and he really didn’t have the chance to fight with Jones. His fight has been called off and when he bounces back, he will be able to dispute the belt.”
http://www.bjpenn.com/mmanews/2012/08/25/dan-hendersons-camp-expects-title-match-upon-return-to-action-ufc-news-35256.html

Henderson was being heroic and trying to gut through the pain though. There's nothing selfish about him waiting until a week before the fight to divulge an injury that limited him for the last three weeks of his training and had his entire team telling him not to fight. I'm sure as soon as the injury happened Henderson didn't see a doctor who told him the exact same thing the UFC doctors did... unless Henderson is a moron who thinks having to limp around for a week or two during training is a good thing. I'm sure Sonnen wasn't aware of the injury and was merely agreeing to fight the undefeated champion on 8 days notice out of the goodness of his heart. Riiiggght.

[Next Big Thing]

For You Krimzon:

Vitor Belfort is a member of the Blackzilians now. Rashad is heading up his training camp.
http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/8/25/3267427/vitor-belfort-joins-blackzilians-rashad-evans-to-serve-as-head-coach

[Krimzon7]

For You Krimzon:

Vitor Belfort is a member of the Blackzilians now. Rashad is heading up his training camp.
http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/8/25/3267427/vitor-belfort-joins-blackzilians-rashad-evans-to-serve-as-head-coach

Uh, wait...does that mean....Is Rashad really....Isn't Anderson Silva....:'(

[Kris P Lettus]

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.

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.

[Innovator]

Well really, you need more than 8 days to promote Anderson vs. Bones.

[Kris P Lettus]

Jones should have just man'd up and fought Sonnen..

[Kris P Lettus]

Say RG3 gets hurt before week one, can the Saints be like "we're not gonna play the Redskins cause Grossman's style is different than RG3"??

[DaveBrawl]

No because no one is worried about Rex Grossman.

[Big Vic]

That was a pretty bad analogy.

[Kris P Lettus]

It's the exact same thing.. Competitors should compete against the athletes put in front of them..

[DaveBrawl]

Especially when that athlete in front of you is Rex Grossman.

[Kris P Lettus]

Ok, look at it like a team going against the Titans and Locker gets hurt so Hasselbeck is gonna start..

[DaveBrawl]

Oh I get what you're saying I just want to mock Grossman.

[Kris P Lettus]

Don't we all..

[Kris P Lettus]

ESPN.com: Mixed Martial Arts [Print without images]

Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Ellenberger doesn't foresee UFC 151 repeat
By Franklin McNeil

Everything had gone according to plan for Jake Ellenberger.

His training camp was flawless. His body was in tip-top condition and mentally there were no doubts he’d leave his rematch with Jay Hieron at UFC 151 victorious.

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Then the roof fell in.

UFC president Dana White cancelled the Sept. 1 event when light heavyweight contender Dan Henderson withdrew due to an MCL injury, and champion Jon Jones opted not to fight replacement Chael Sonnen on short notice.

The decision to cancel UFC 151 caught every fighter on the card by surprise, including Ellenberger. But the welterweight contender, who is ranked No. 7 by ESPN.com, doesn't foresee a pattern arising.

UFC 151 marked the first time since White and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta took over the promotion, 11 years ago, that a card was cancelled. And Ellenberger believes it will be the last time.

"I’m not worried about this happening again," Ellenberger told ESPN.com. "It's not likely. I was shocked that it happened now. They found a replacement for the main event, but it ended up not working out. And that was an executive decision they had to make. But I don’t see this happening again in the future at all."

The cancellation proved to be nothing more than an inconvenience for Ellenberger. His rematch with Hieron is still on, they just have to wait a month to get at one another again.

"My fight got postponed; it really doesn’t change a lot for me, other than I'm fighting a few weeks later," Ellenberger said. "It's the same opponent for me. And it gives me more time to prepare.

"I was physically and mentally prepared to fight [on Sept. 1]. But it’s not completely a bad thing. There's some good I can take out of this. It allows me to strategize more for my opponent. It gives him more time to prepare for me, too. I'm taking a lot of positives out of the situation."

Their rematch is now scheduled for Oct. 5 at Target Center in Minneapolis.

Hieron defeated Ellenberger by unanimous decision on June 3, 2006. It was the first professional loss of Ellenberger's career -- and it still stings a little.

But the pain from that initial setback doesn't remotely compare to the hurt Ellenberger felt for some fighters who were unable to compete at UFC 151. He knows firsthand the financial damage missing a paycheck can have on most mixed martial artists.

"I feel bad for the other fighters on the card, especially the undercard guys," Ellenberger said. "Many are just coming up. I’ve been there so I know exactly what they are going through, especially the guys at the lower pay scale. Those guys have families and mouths to feed and bills to pay like everyone else. They have coaches to pay. There are a lot of things they have to deal with."

Ellenberger is confident every fighter scheduled to compete at UFC 151 will overcome the setback and be stronger than ever.

They will have more opportunities to fight inside the Octagon. And they won’t have to worry about their next UFC bout being cancelled or postponed

[James Steele]

Jones should have just man'd up and fought Sonnen..

Say RG3 gets hurt before week one, can the Saints be like "we're not gonna play the Redskins cause Grossman's style is different than RG3"??

It's the exact same thing.. Competitors should compete against the athletes put in front of them..

You are fucking stupid. It is nowhere near close to the same thing. You are comparing a team sport in which injuries don't impact the game (as much as MMA) because their is a built in replacement and there are 10 other people there to pick up the slack. (An injury to 1 superstar won't cause an NFL game to be cancelled).

MMA is an individual sport where you meticulously prepare for 1 individual for months (not a week). In football, losing a game won't be the end of the world and it is assumed you will lose a few times a year. In MMA, a single loss can potentially ruin a career. In the NFL, fans support teams moreso than athletes (generally) while MMA is all about the individual fighters who are trying to market themselves as a brand to establish themselves long term both in celebrity and financially. There is no logical reason for Jon Jones to risk everything by taking this fight other than to cover Dana White's stupid ass and "do right" by the MMA fans who will shit on him no matter what he does.

[James Steele]

Also, it isn't Jon Jones' fault that those fighters either get paid later or not paid at all. It was Dana who couldn't build a card that could handle injuries changing things. It was Dana White who cancelled the fucking show. Jon Jones' responsibility is to himself and his family, not every other fighter who happens to using his star power to make a living.

[Next Big Thing]

Say RG3 gets hurt before week one, can the Saints be like "we're not gonna play the Redskins cause Grossman's style is different than RG3"??

This analogy doesn't work on so many levels. The Saints know who RG3's backup is and are aware of the possibility that he could play. You could even argue that it's in the Saints best interest to have Grossman on the field. There was no back up that Jones could reasonably expect to see if Henderson got hurt.

Hell, the NFL REQUIRES teams to furnish injury reports every week and designate a status on an injured player and even name the general area of the injury. So if RG3 got hurt before week one and couldn't play, the Saints would know it because he would have seen a doctor and been listed as "Out" or "Doubtful" the week the injury occurred . If the UFC was like the NFL in that regard, this debacle probably would have been avoided because Henderson would have been given an injury designation three weeks ago and Jones/the UFC would have been updated on the condition each week.

Hope you're safe down there though Kris P. Stay dry.

[Next Big Thing]

Fuck you for stealing my thunder Steele.

[St. Jimmy]

Also, it isn't Jon Jones' fault that those fighters either get paid later or not paid at all. It was Dana who couldn't build a card that could handle injuries changing things. It was Dana White who cancelled the fucking show. Jon Jones' responsibility is to himself and his family, not every other fighter who happens to using his star power to make a living.

Shut the fuck up. Seriously.

Jones had the option: FIGHT or Kill this Card.

Jones, GIVEN ONE OF THE EASIEST KILLS OF HIS LIFE, turned it down. He would've eaten Chael and got a fat check. Jones is a bitch, you defending him makes him even more of a bitch.

[James Steele]

Yes, Chael Sonnen is a fucking push-over and it would have been a glorified jobber fight. :roll:

Jones didn't kill this card. Dana White's stupidity killed this card. Jon Jones chose the smart thing to do in spite of self-righteous asshats like you who think fighters should just be dogs who fight whoever and whenever their owner throws them in the ring.

Yes, Chael is coming off a loss (to the best fighter in the world) weeks ago but he isn't some schmuck who would lay down or be completely inept just because he hasn't been in camp. Jon Jones is not an entertainer, he is a fighter and MMA Champion. He has TWO responsibilities: train like a mother fucker for an opponent and then proceed to beat the fuck out of that opponent. I can't comprehend how it is "ridiculous" for a champion to turn down a new opponent for a title fight with less than a week to actually prepare. If anything, this shows how much Jon Jones respects the sport, the process of preparing for a fight, his opponents, and himself. I love Chael, but he has done nothing to deserve a championship fight with Jon Jones other than being able to hype a fight within minutes and fighting his ass off.

[Savio]

People must think that MMA is not a sport and its like WWE and the GM can just make matches when ever he wants.

"But John Cena would defend his title!"

[St. Jimmy]

Yes, Chael Sonnen is a fucking push-over and it would have been a glorified jobber fight. :roll:

Jones didn't kill this card. Dana White's stupidity killed this card. Jon Jones chose the smart thing to do in spite of self-righteous asshats like you who think fighters should just be dogs who fight whoever and whenever their owner throws them in the ring.

Yes, Chael is coming off a loss (to the best fighter in the world) weeks ago but he isn't some schmuck who would lay down or be completely inept just because he hasn't been in camp. Jon Jones is not an entertainer, he is a fighter and MMA Champion. He has TWO responsibilities: train like a mother fucker for an opponent and then proceed to beat the fuck out of that opponent. I can't comprehend how it is "ridiculous" for a champion to turn down a new opponent for a title fight with less than a week to actually prepare. If anything, this shows how much Jon Jones respects the sport, the process of preparing for a fight, his opponents, and himself. I love Chael, but he has done nothing to deserve a championship fight with Jon Jones other than being able to hype a fight within minutes and fighting his ass off.

Do you actually read what you write? Seriously.

Fighters don't turn down fights. It's unwritten law.

[CSL]

Rashad Evans:

“For me, it’s a two part question for me. For one, you want to always keep it right for the fighters. It’s great for the fighters to have the right to choose a fight. That is one of the liberties we do have, the option to say yes or no to a fight. But then on the other hand, you have a tremendous responsibility as the champion. You are the champion of the UFC. Not only that, you became champion of the UFC through circumstances like this. You had the opportunity to fight for someone that was injured. He stepped into a fight, after I got hurt, so he stepped in for me to fight Shogun. So, he was rewarded by the very process of somebody stepping in to take a fight. So, he owed it to the UFC to take the fight. Not only that, he owed it to all the other fighters on this card who are going to be missing paydays because of that. And lets not talk about how the UFC has done so much to make him the face of the UFC. They sponsored him. Everything he’s gotten is because of the UFC, the whole Nike endorsement and everything else like that, has all been because of the UFC. When he got in trouble a few months back, it was the UFC who stood behind him and kind of made it go away relatively quickly. So, for him to turn his back on the UFC is very hard to believe, for one, but it’s just disappointing. I’m sure one day, when he has the time to understand the ramifications of his decision, he’s is gonna think, ‘Wow. What did I really do?’”

…

“For me, it’s more of a sadness than anything. What it comes down to at the end of the day, despite the fact that me and Jon had our situations and we did part ways the way we did and we fought and I lost, I don’t want to wish bad on him. I never want to wish bad on anybody like that because these are things in life that affects more than Jon Jones. It affects his family, it affects everyone that is close to him. So, to wish bad on him is to wish bad on a lot of other people that I have no problems with. Another thing is, dimming his light doesn’t make my light any brighter. So for me, I just feel bad that it has come to light, exactly what I was saying and I don’t want to be like, ‘Ah man, I told you so, I told you so.’ I would have been happy if he made me look like a liar. For me, it’s about the organization and the sport and he is an ambassador for the sport, so, when he does things like this, it affects everybody involved. If he is going to be champion, then he has to take responsibility pretty serious and know and that he is representing more than just himself with the choices that he makes.”

[Kris P Lettus]

People must think that MMA is not a sport and its like WWE and the GM can just make matches when ever he wants.

"But John Cena would defend his title!"

No but if a contender gets hurts, you should man up and fight the next in line.. In this case, the next two in line aren't ready cause they just fought (Shogun, Machida).. Sure Chael just fought but he would DIE for a title.. He has the heart of a champion while Jones just wants what Silva already has (years of dominance and having the most title defenses, etc) so he is gonna pick and choose his fights..

He has the right to refuse the fight, but at the same time, the UFC, who already sponcer him, have the right to destroy him now that he destroyed their card by not doing his job which is fighting..

[James Steele]

No but if a contender gets hurts, you should man up and fight the next in line.. In this case, the next two in line aren't ready cause they just fought (Shogun, Machida).. Sure Chael just fought but he would DIE for a title.. He has the heart of a champion while Jones just wants what Silva already has (years of dominance and having the most title defenses, etc) so he is gonna pick and choose his fights..

He has the right to refuse the fight, but at the same time, the UFC, who already sponcer him, have the right to destroy him now that he destroyed their card by not doing his job which is fighting..

How can I take an MMA company seriously when they openly bash one of their best fighters just because he doesn't want to be the owner/commissioner/president's bitch? You would roll your eyes and lose respect for the NFL if Roger Goodell tore down a player or team the way Dana does just because they refuse to do what they are told. Hell, any other legitimate sports league for that matter. Imagine if Roger Goodell hammered Drew Brees for speaking out against all the suspensions and shit the way Dana is hammering Jon Jones. Also, fuck this "unwritten rule" bullshit. There is no honor among thieves. Dana would throw these fighters under the bus or out on the street in a heartbeat, so why should they just throw themselves out there unprepared just to cover Dana's ass? Fuck that and fuck him.

[Kris P Lettus]

I would lose respect for a team who wouldn't play on a sunday cause an opposing player got injured and would be replaced by another player..

[James Steele]

I would lose respect for a team who wouldn't play on a sunday cause an opposing player got injured and would be replaced by another player..

You are comparing apples and oranges again you dumbfuck. Team sports are completely different than MMA. A team can't refuse to play a game. They would forfeit and LOSE the game. MMA is an individual sport where fighters put up a shitload of time, money, and energy to fight a certain individual they signed a contract with to fight. Then, 8 days before said fight after months and months of training for a huge title fight...you just want throw whatever eager slapdick (let alone a proven fighter like Chael) to fight you just because he was the first one to call Dana on the phone? Fuck that. That bush league shit may work for fighters who are working their way up and need as many fights as possible to make it to the big show and make some money, but when you are the Light Heavyweight Champion and one of the best fighters in the world you shouldn't have to automatically bend over backwards and risk everything you've busted your ass for just to protect a promoter's ass who would slice your throat in a heartbeat.

[CSL]

Dana would throw these fighters under the bus or out on the street in a heartbeat

...a promoter's ass who would slice your throat in a heartbeat.

Whether I agree with you or not on anything else, these parts are simply wrong.

[Fignuts]

If Jones had more time to prep then I would agree that he should take the fight. But less than a week? Come the fuck on.

[Kris P Lettus]

Both Sonnen and Hendo have a similar style.. Sonnen just has a better chance to hold him down while Hendo has a better chance to KO him..

It's kinda of a wash..

[CSL]

yeah, I'm still not seeing the "needs time to prep" argument. He's a phenom, a world class professional athlete the likes of which hasn't really been seen before with a FULL, COMPLETE training camp behind him against a guy coming off a fight 1 month ago who would have been fighting on 8 days notice at a weight he's never fought in the UFC at (let alone against the most dangerous LHW on the planet) with a similar enough style to his original opponent. Jon Jones is top level wrestler, it's not like he'd have been not defending takedowns in camp or preparing for the possibility that OLYMPIC WRESTLER Dan Henderson might try and take him down aka Chael's main weapons. It's a weak argument at best.

When Greg Jackson says "it's the biggest mistake you could make" about taking the fight, the amount of money they could draw with a properly promoted Jones/Sonnen fight is a better excuse than not enough time to prepare.

[Big Vic]

That's actually something I was starting to wonder about too. Greg Jackson has said that Chael was helping Hendo train and wasn't as out of shape as we would think, plus, Sonnen is cunning and I don't think he'd go into a fight against Jon Jones cold just to get knocked out or submitted early. Especially when you consider the fact that almost all of Sonnen's wins are grinders that go to decision, which means Sonnen is more than aware of the cardio he would need to win a fight against Jones.

Also, when you look deeper into it, Sonnen and Henderson aren't as similar as Dana made them out to be. In their last six fights, Henderson has 4 takedowns, Sonnen has 22 according to Fight Metric. Even if you compare their fights based on length, it's still evident that Sonnen is more likely than Hendo to shoot and get the takedown. You also have to worry about Hendo's knockout power in his right hand, Sonnen fights South Paw and has zero KOs in his career. Maybe Jackson was considering those things when he told Bones to decline the fight.

[CSL]

and? You think Jones and Jackson hadn't considered the possibility that given Henderson's OLYMPIC WRESTLING background, the rest of the world's lack of success when standing up with Jones and that Jones has never fought a wrestler the caliber of Hendo except maybe Matt Hammil that they may have planned for more than one plan from Henderson? He's a world class athlete with a world class trainer and a world class team, don't be so naive. The only part of that that's relevant is the southpaw part and Lyoto Machida is a southpaw and roughly 371 times the striker that Chael Sonnen is. Jones isn't fearing Sonnen's anything standing up.

[James Steele]

Whether I agree with you or not on anything else, these parts are simply wrong.

Did Dana's reaction to Jon Jones turning down this fight not show this?

[CSL]

it just shows Dana's a hothead, which is hardly a secret. Right or wrong he unabashedly says it how he sees it. Yeah he's not the typical president of multi-million dollar world wide organisation but it's not your regular multi-million dollar world wide business. He paid for the surgery to save the life of a kid of a guy who simply trains with one of his fighters, he paid for a lot of Dan Miller's kid's medical bills, he didn't cut Dan Hardy after 4 straight losses because Hardy is "a warrior", there's always mention of fighters being paid extra non scheduled bonuses after certain performances etc. He's hardly some evil magnate.

[James Steele]

it just shows Dana's a hothead, which is hardly a secret. Right or wrong he unabashedly says it how he sees it. Yeah he's not the typical president of multi-million dollar world wide organisation but it's not your regular multi-million dollar world wide business. He paid for the surgery to save the life of a kid who simply trains with one of his fighters, he paid for a lot of Dan Miller's kid's medical bills, he didn't cut Dan Hardy after 4 straight losses because Hardy is "a warrior", there's always mention of fighters being paid extra non scheduled bonuses after certain performances etc. He's hardly some evil magnate.

Great, he takes care of the down-trodden and people who kill themselves for him. Doesn't make it right when he completely shits on a guy for not doing what he wants.

[CSL]

that wasn't the point I was contesting

and guys under contract get criticized for making shortsighted decisions. This is also nothing new. It's not like they get fined or fired or frozen out or anything. And you still make out as if Jones was being asked to do something unreasonable. Which simply isn't the case.

[Big Vic]

I think its unreasonable to give someone a title shot coming off a loss for talking smack on twitter.

[CSL]

lol what does that even mean, that's grasping at straws, were they supposed to not even attempt to replace Henderson with a legit fighter/draw when Machida was unreachable, Rashad was dominated in the last LHW title fight and Shogun having fought a 4 round fight 19 days prior? And what is this "acting like fighters have never talked their way into fights before" stuff?

[Kris P Lettus]

I think its unreasonable to give someone a title shot coming off a loss for talking smack on twitter.

Coming off a loss to the greatest MMA fighter ever.. He is still a headlining contender and after the second Silva loss, Dana pretty much said he could do or fight anyone he wanted.. Chael also said he was gonna move to LHW (which was already happening with the fight with Forrest).. He couldn't have gotten a LHW title shot immediately, but with the injuries to the top contenders he was at the right place at the right time..

[NoJabbaNoBogRoll]

In light of the recent mess that was the cancelation of UFC 151 (http://www.sbnation.com/mma/fight-card/97820/ufc-151-jones-vs-henderson), we still have yet to see the end of the aftermath. Not too many people came out of this looking great, except maybe Chael Sonnen (http://www.sbnation.com/mma/fighter/122570/chael-sonnen), the unlikely "hero" in this story. Some people have come out of this cast in very deprecatory ways, few more than UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones (http://www.sbnation.com/mma/fighter/122514/jon-jones). In a recent article from The Wrestling Observer (http://www.f4wonline.com/index.php?option=com_user&view=login&return=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5mNHdvbmxpbmUuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXItYXJjaGl2ZS9maWd1cmUtZm91ci13ZWVrbHkvMjcyNDQtY XVnLTI4LWZpZ3VyZS1mb3VyLXdlZWtseS1uZXdzbGV0dGVyLWZ1bGwtc3Rvcnktb2Ytam9uLWpvbmVzLWFuZC11ZmMtMTUxLXRvb nMtb2Ytbm90ZXMtZnJvbS1yYXctaGhoLXZzLWJyb2NrLWxlc25hci1paS13d2UtdHYtY2hhbmdlcy10aGUtbmV0d29yay1hbGwtd GhlLXR2LXJldmlld3MtYW5kLXdvcmxkd2lkZS1uZXdzLWZvci10aGUtd2Vlaw==) (Subscription required), there's yet another piece of information that will add fuel to the Jon Jones fire: Jones was very upset after Chael began calling him out and mocking him on Twitter, going as far as to contact White and ask him to tell Chael to stop
Even if you're an avid Jones supporter, it's hard to cast this in a positive light. Sure, it may not always be fun to be the butt of ten thousand Chael Sonnen jokes, but that's not something you can just ask Dana White to stop. It just seems childish for a professional athlete to respond so oddly to a little bit of heat from a possible competitor.
Also from the article, we see more of Jones, as his recent appearance on a radio show is analyzed, and what Jon said makes him look like a hypocrite: About a week before this all went down, he went on a radio show and talked about how Chael was undeserving of the fight coming off the loss to Anderson Silva (http://www.sbnation.com/mma/fighter/122568/anderson-silva), and that he was disrespectful and not the type of person he'd want to give a title shot to anyway. The host noted that Chael wouldn't be able to take Bones down, and unlike Henderson, also a wrestler, he didn't possess the power punch standing and wasn't a finisher. The host told Jones to take the paycheck and shut the guy up. At that point Jones said yes, you're right, I'll fight Chael any time, any where.
There is hardly a positive way to look at this. Jones clearly says he'd do something he doesn't end up doing, despite the situation providing him the ability. Though he may be one of the greatest fighters to ever live, Jones constantly trips up with words, saying things he doesn't really mean, or things he can't or won't follow up on. It's hard to watch, because we're seeing such a great fighter open himself up for ridicule based on the things he says. Hopefully, this situation will be over soon, and everyone can just put this behind them. It's been a pretty rough week for many people, especially Jon Jones.


http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/8/29/3277825/ufc-151-jon-jones-asked-dana-white-chael-sonnen-stop-calling-out-mma-news

[Kris P Lettus]

lol

[Big Vic]

People would like Jones a lot more if he didn't speak.


Does anyone have the audio of that?

[Big Vic]

Coming off a loss to the greatest MMA fighter ever.. He is still a headlining contender and after the second Silva loss, Dana pretty much said he could do or fight anyone he wanted.. Chael also said he was gonna move to LHW (which was already happening with the fight with Forrest).. He couldn't have gotten a LHW title shot immediately, but with the injuries to the top contenders he was at the right place at the right time..
I'm not saying he is not a headlining contender and he is great. I don't think a Twitter war warrants a title fight however. "Joe Fighter" could start a twitter war with Silva right now, that shouldn't warrant him a title fight.

Jones even asked if Dana would push the Chael fight back to 152 and Dana just said "fuck it" and canceled the card.

[Kris P Lettus]

I'm not saying he is not a headlining contender and he is great. I don't think a Twitter war warrants a title fight however. "Joe Fighter" could start a twitter war with Silva right now, that shouldn't warrant him a title fight.


If "Joe Fighter" was a top 5 contender, then yes..

[Big Vic]

Then I'm surprised more people aren't doing it.

[Kris P Lettus]

Chael is a trend setter when hyping fights..

[Krimzon7]

Rashad Evans is right, there's a poetic injustice here. Jon Jones was the recipient of a gift title shot after training with the 'original' contender. Now he's the champ, and the training partner of the 'original' contender is stepping up to fight and he backs out. Hmm, it's pretty ungrateful of him considering all of the very valid point s that Rashad mentioned in the interview.

Oh well, Theres a nice amount of Bitch in Jon Jones, and it continues to seep to the surface.

[James Steele]

:lol: at one of the best MMA fighters in the world being a "bitch". That is hilarious and nonsensical to me.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Rashad Evans is right, there's a poetic injustice here. Jon Jones was the recipient of a gift title shot after training with the 'original' contender. Now he's the champ, and the training partner of the 'original' contender is stepping up to fight and he backs out. Hmm, it's pretty ungrateful of him considering all of the very valid point s that Rashad mentioned in the interview.

Oh well, Theres a nice amount of Bitch in Jon Jones, and it continues to seep to the surface.

Although Rua did have 6 weeks notice.

[Next Big Thing]

Rashad Evans is right, there's a poetic injustice here. Jon Jones was the recipient of a gift title shot after training with the 'original' contender. Now he's the champ, and the training partner of the 'original' contender is stepping up to fight and he backs out. Hmm, it's pretty ungrateful of him considering all of the very valid point s that Rashad mentioned in the interview.

Oh well, Theres a nice amount of Bitch in Jon Jones, and it continues to seep to the surface.

It wasn't a gift title shot. Shogun was ready to fight for the first time in a year, Rashad got hurt, Rampage turned down the opportunity to fight for the title on short notice because he was fat and bloated so Dana had no choice but to make the winner of Jones/Bader the #1 contender spot. Jones knew this ahead of time, beat Bader (who was a top contender himself at that point) and got the shot. Not sure any of that was a gift or favor from the UFC or is comparable to someone just being handed a shot like Sonnen or Belfort.

[Savio]

Rashad Evans is right, there's a poetic injustice here. Jon Jones was the recipient of a gift title shot after training with the 'original' contender. Now he's the champ, and the training partner of the 'original' contender is stepping up to fight and he backs out. Rua wasn't taking the fight on 8 days notice.

[Krimzon7]

:lol: at one of the best MMA fighters in the world being a "bitch". That is hilarious and nonsensical to me.

Jon Jones is not a Bitch, but he has a lot of Bitch in him. There is a difference. The man is a Combat Sport Prodigy, but he has some stupid management around him.
Although Rua did have 6 weeks notice.

Jon Jones had a full training camp, and was preparing to fight a wrestler with atom bombs for fists. The replacement for this guy is a wrestler with dandelions for fists, and the bitter sting of defeat behind him.. Advantage the guy who had a training camp behind him
It wasn't a gift title shot. Shogun was ready to fight for the first time in a year, Rashad got hurt, Rampage turned down the opportunity to fight for the title on short notice because he was fat and bloated so Dana had no choice but to make the winner of Jones/Bader the #1 contender spot. Jones knew this ahead of time, beat Bader (who was a top contender himself at that point) and got the shot. Not sure any of that was a gift or favor from the UFC or is comparable to someone just being handed a shot like Sonnen or Belfort.

The point is that he was in an eerily symmetrical position to the one that afforded him the meteoric rise to prominence that he has enjoyed, and he has spit in the face of the people that gave it to him.
Rua wasn't taking the fight on 8 days notice.

Yeah, please review the above stated point.

[Kris P Lettus]

It wasn't a gift title shot. Shogun was ready to fight for the first time in a year, Rashad got hurt, Rampage turned down the opportunity to fight for the title on short notice because he was fat and bloated so Dana had no choice but to make the winner of Jones/Bader the #1 contender spot. Jones knew this ahead of time, beat Bader (who was a top contender himself at that point) and got the shot. Not sure any of that was a gift or favor from the UFC or is comparable to someone just being handed a shot like Sonnen or Belfort.

It was not known before the Bader/Jones fight that the winner would get the shot..

[Big Vic]

If you guys think that Chael and Hendo have exactly the same style you must be out of your mind.

[Kris P Lettus]

They both have wrestling backgrounds.. The difference lies in Chael's ability to hold opponents down while Hendo can KO mofos at will..

[Savio]

Just because 2 people have a background in wrestling doesnt make them similar though, heck Jones has a background in wrestling but he is not like Chael at all.

[CSL]

and? You think Jones and Jackson hadn't considered the possibility that given Henderson's OLYMPIC WRESTLING background, the rest of the world's lack of success when standing up with Jones and that Jones has never fought a wrestler the caliber of Hendo except maybe Matt Hammil that they may have planned for more than one plan from Henderson? He's a world class athlete with a world class trainer and a world class team, don't be so naive. The only part of that that's relevant is the southpaw part and Lyoto Machida is a southpaw and roughly 371 times the striker that Chael Sonnen is. Jones isn't fearing Sonnen's anything standing up.

we aren't talking a GSP to Dan Hardy difference here or anything

[Kris P Lettus]

Just because 2 people have a background in wrestling doesnt make them similar though, heck Jones has a background in wrestling but he is not like Chael at all.

Jones could use his wrestling against Chael's style..

Not so much against Henderson's overhand right..

[Kris P Lettus]

Jon Jones Believes UFC 151 Withdrawal Was a ‘Really Smart Personal Career Decision’

If you can put down your haterade and suspend your disdain for just a bit today, we suggest listening to UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones discuss his decision to not fight Chael Sonnen on short notice at UFC 151, in a full-length interview with The MMA Hour. The full interview is after the jump.

Having had a week to reflect on it, and despite all the criticism that has come his way since he “murdered” this weekend’s scheduled event, Jones does not regret his choice to not fight Sonnen. “I actually think it was a really smart personal career decision,” the champ said.

Jones said that immediately after he got the offer he assembled all of his coaches to get their opinions. Jones said that while they all told him that they had “no doubt” that the light-heavyweight champ could win a fight against Sonnen, they also let it be known that the trash-talking middleweight was a totally different fighter than his original UFC 151 opponent Dan Henderson.

“They honestly believed I could win the fight. They also said, ‘I want you to be aware of the fact that you prepared for a complete opposite style.’”

“Chael Sonnen is a southpaw. He has a completely different pressure, different takedowns. His ground and pound is different…He’s a completely different warrior,” Jones went on.

Jones, often criticized for supposedly being arrogant, said that he believes taking a fight with someone as good as Sonnen with virtually little notice would have, in fact, been arrogant of him. “I think it would have been extremely arrogant on my part to take the fight,” Jones said.

“To assume I could beat one of the top 10 fighters on the planet without preparing for him whatsoever — that would be extremely ignorant.”

As for the criticism that Jones should have been brave enough to fight Sonnen because Sonnen was willing to fight him on short notice, “Bones” explained that he and “The American Gangster” are in much different places in their respective careers. “[Chael has] absolutely nothing to lose,” Jones said.

“I don’t think people realize Chael’s record in the UFC is 5-6…Why would I put a world championship on the line against a very dangerous opponent but a person who hasn’t even remotely earned the right to consider himself in the position to fight for a world title? That’s like hitting the jackpot and I refuse to be anyone’s jackpot.”

Jones maintained that he didn’t become the youngest champion in UFC history because he’s athletically gifted, but rather because of his meticulous preparation for fights. Jones said that he wasn’t good at fighting “because I’m this freak athlete with two brothers in the NFL…My secret to success is being so prepared.”

Listen to Jones’ full interview below to hear him discuss much more, including his current relationship with UFC President Dana White, being made to feel like a “piece of meat,” and the claim that he asked Dana to make Chael stop taunting him. (He denies it.)

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RcyrkZ0t190" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Kris P Lettus]

I hate every moment of this..

[Kris P Lettus]

As far as Jon (Bones) Jones is concerned, he and Dan Henderson have some unfinished business.

The two were slated to headline UFC 151 in Las Vegas Sept. 1. After Henderson suffered a partially torn MCL, Jones turned down a replacement bout with Chael Sonnen and the UFC scrapped the card.

The light-heavyweight champion is now scheduled to meet Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 in Toronto Sept. 22. Though he’s not looking past the tough Brazilian, Jones said he wants Henderson once he’s done with Belfort.

“I haven’t said that anywhere, but you can be the first to put that out,” Jones said over the phone. “There’s some unfinished business, for sure. I don’t think Henderson handled the situation wisely, by making fun of me for not taking the fight (against Sonnen). Dude, you just dodged a bullet and you’re talking trash to me? You got injured and you’re going to talk trash that I didn’t fight Chael?

“He came out with this ad that said, ‘Buy a Hendo shirt and get a free Jon Jones shirt to dry your car off with.’ You’re making fun of me, yet you got hurt and dodged a bullet? You’re sitting at home with ice on your knee and I’m here doing pushups again because I thought my camp should have been over. I have stuff to do and you’re sitting around your home playing video games, or whatever you do during the day.

“Training camps suck, bro. Training camps suck. The fight is the fun part. So I’ve got to suffer all over again, do a training camp all over again, and you’re at home, laying down, having somebody feed you soup and you’re going to make fun of me because you got hurt?

“You should shut up and be grateful you dodged a bullet.”

Since the announcement that UFC 151 was cancelled, Jones has been Public Enemy No. 1 in the MMA world. Log onto any MMA forum and you’ll likely find countless threads criticizing his every word.

Though Jones chooses to focus only on the positives, he feels there’s a double standard from his critics.

“There are a lot of people who still love and respect me, but right now it’s kind of cool to hate me,” Jones said.

“I do something and it’s the worst thing in the world. Then when someone else does it, it’s almost OK. Chael says all this crazy stuff, but then I say something slight and it’s like, ‘Oh, that was the cockiest thing I’ve ever heard.’ Dan Henderson called me a kid 1,000 times leading up to that fight and we never even fought. I call him an old man once and the whole world was like, ‘You freakin’ age discriminator. You’re such a bad person.’

“Wow. I can’t get away with anything and everyone else does pretty much whatever they want.”

Though he admits it can be frustrating to have his name dragged through the mud, Jones has already come to terms with the fact that it’s simply a part of the gig.

“It just comes with being me, man, it just comes with the job,” Jones said. “People hate guys who are good what they do. It happens with all dominant teams — people want to see them lose. They can’t find anything to say about my game, so they attack (my) personality. You’ve got to bring down the guy on top, some way, some how. Even saying this, people will be like, ‘What an arrogant bastard.’ Even though I’m just telling the truth.”

In Jones’ mind, all the negativity is behind him now. He just wants to give Toronto fans a great performance against Belfort.

“I don’t know how therapeutic I would call it, but it definitely puts a lot of things behind me,” Jones said.

“I think a good win helps people forget about the negativity. I think it reminds people why they’re here, why I’m here. I’m not really here to be the perfect character or the perfect person people love. I’m here because I’m a great entertainer. I give you guys blood and the things you want to see. I’m here to fight for people, not for all the extra side stuff.

“I just want to reward the fans with a great fight, so they can remember why they’re all supposed to be here.”

Though Jones respects Belfort, he admits he was surprised his name came up, since the MMA legend has been competing at middleweight since 2008.

“I thought it was kind of random, but everything inside of me was like, ‘Wow, this is awesome,’ ” Jones said. “I got nervous right away. That nervous feeling is good. That means you respect the guy you’re going against.

“He’s a southpaw. I’ve only ever fought one other southpaw. He’s a former world champion and there’s the whole, ‘Who is the youngest champion of all time?’ argument. There’s so much to prove there. There’s so much awesomeness to wake up and train five days (a week) for. So it was a blessing in disguise.”

TICKETS, ANYONE?

If you still have a UFC 151 ticket in your possession, now might be a good opportunity to hit up Jon Jones.

“I really want a UFC 151 ticket,” Jones said. “I think the people who have that rare ticket, it’s not all bad. You’ve got a ticket that no one else has and you’ll always have — the weird event that never happened, the weird controversy. I’m looking for one of those tickets. I might try and buy one from a fan or something.”

After his UFC light-heavyweight championship tilt against Dan Henderson was cancelled, Jones turned down a replacement fight with Chael Sonnen and the card was scrapped. Jones said he doesn’t regret his decision to turn down Sonnen.

“Right after I beat Vitor Belfort, it’s going to be like, ‘Man, the kid knew what he was doing. He didn’t gamble and he took a fight with later notice,’ ” Jones said over the phone. “I look at the positive. Now people in Canada get to come watch me fight again. When I look back at it, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.”

During a conference call to announce UFC 151’s cancellation, UFC president Dana White put the blame on Jones. Jones admitted he was hurt by White’s comments, but has moved on. “I definitely feel like I’ve done a lot for the UFC and I kind of felt as though I meant more to him than what he demonstrated in that interview,” Jones said. “He hasn’t apologized for it, but I forgive him. People make irrational decisions when they’re angry. I’m over it in every way, shape or form. Me having a beef or problem with the UFC or Dana gets me nowhere. I’m really over it ... He really didn’t insult me. He didn’t call me a name or anything. He just said how he felt about me at the time. So I’m over it, man.”

Hendo is gonna murder him...