Sonnen vs Jones
 

How has this not been posted about??

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...aff-discussion

So Chael vs Forrest is off but, Chael vs Jones for the LHW title is on and leading up to it is a whole season of smack talk from Sonnen as they are coaching TUF 17..

I'm absolutely pumped about this whole thing, even though Henderson is the one getting fucked here..

Also, Phil Davis is taking Sonnens place at UFC 155 to take on Forrest Griffin, which will be an awesome fight..

I would really like to watch this they need to take it off fridays tho

They are moving from Fridays. I think we are gonna get the MMA version of the Monday Night Wars it sounds like.

Griffin/Davis is a given for Davis, gonna say we will see another smooth submission here or a solid decision win for Davis.

Chael/Jones, yeah the ride to the show will be great, but come on Jones will dominate. And of course Chael doesn't deserve this fight but I get the business of it, and I'd rather see this thank Jones/Hendo.

Jones will smash him though.

Chael's shit talking is only going to be good if he comes with some original stuff instead of the same canned one liners. Otherwise, it's going to be tiring quickly. He's got an ice cube's chance in hell of winning that fight too.

Does suck for Hendo. If he's paired against Machida in the mean time I think he should win that fight, I don't think he wants a second tilt against Shogun however.

Does anyone know what weight class the contestants are in this, I know it doesnt really matter b/c its not about them but just curious.

They need some flyweights and bantams real bad.

This just shows that a ranking system means diddly shit in the UFC. Doesnt matter your record or streak...its a matter if youre marketable.

This happens once in a blue moon... It's not a big deal. Does Chael deserve it? No, but TUF needs a huge rating boost and this is an exciting fight. Shit like this has happened in the past and it is always intruiging.

Did Brock deserve a title shot so soon? How about Couture/Sylvia fight?

They didn't come off loses, and they didn't jump to a division where theyjhaven't even gotten a win

Brock totally came off a loss.

So did Tito in the last incarnation of Tito/Liddell before Tito pulled out.

There was no depth in either of those divisions and at least the contenders had fights at that weight class. I don't mind the fight because I can't wait to see Jones smash him, but it is kind of a joke of a match up.

Brock beat Herring.

Rashad wants Machida again at the beggining of the year, before he moves down to 185.. I could def see that happening since Evans last fight was a loss to Jones and Machida turned down a shot at Jones.. That fight makes alot of sense.. So does a Shogun/Hendo rematch..


Sonnen has won numerous times at 205, dude.. Not saying he deserves this shot but no one at 185 wants to fight him and he already made Jones look bad by accepting to fight him and Jones turning it down..

Also, I hope that Heath Herring comment was a joke cause The Texas Crazy Horse wasn't exactly a big contender in UFC and the only reason Lesnar got the Couture fight was b/c he was marketable.. Just like the only reason Couture got the Sylvia fight was b/c Sylvia was shit and the whole HW division sucked ass..

I watch it on demand, online, or on Fuel TV as they reshow is like 100 times the following weeks..

Couture had a little bit more credibility in getting a title shot than Brock Lesnar did getting his.

He hasn't fought in the UFC at 205 yet Krispy. His 205 fights don't mean squat.

I thought they were going to have Hendo fight Machida since Hendo was the #1 contender and Machida was the presumed #1 contender after him based on the Fox card?

Plus, Shogun is fighting Gustaffson in December and I'm assuming Hendo wants to fight again so Machida makes sense out of that group. I kind of want to see Rashad versus Hendo because I think it would make for a great fight stylistically between two damn good fighters.

Hendo/Rashad would be awesome. Bones might destroy Sonnen in the 1st round but at least everything leading up to the fight should be worth it.

He was coming off of TWO losses to Liddell and a win against Mike Van Arsdale AND a year of "retirement"..

His first stint in the UFC was at 205 and he also fought in WEC (owned by Zuffa) at 205..

Maybe you guys should do some research or learn the history of the UFC before stating "facts"..

Shogun is fighting Gustaffson but none of the other fights are "official"..

And yes, Rashad vs Hendo would be amazing..

Hall of Famer vs 2-1 Pro Wrestler.

You call 2 matches a 'stint' at 205? Also, WEC doesnt count, no matter who it's owned by. WEC@205 was a hardly talent filled.

*edit before Krispy tries to impress us with his knowledge*

3 fights. 1 @ 205...

I'm pretty sure Chael was a Middleweight in the WEC. I may be wrong though.

Rashad is fighting Little Nog on Suoerbowl weekend, Helwani just tweeted

Most of his fights before 2006 were at 205..

:-\

If Chael loses he is going to get a Heavyweight title shot.

UFC wants to be considered a major sports league like the NFL. You don't see the NFL just putting the most popular team in the playoffs because it'd get good ratings (wish they would, it'd help the Cowboys a lot). You can't claim to be a legitimate sports league and give out championship matches just because it'll draw.

Does the UFC not want to be considered a "major sports organization" like the NFL? They obviously aren't at that level yet, but isn't that Dana and Zuffa's ultimate goal - have UFC be considered as legitimate,mainstream, and ingrained into the U.S./global sports market as MLB, NFL, FIFA, etc.?

UFC wants to be mainstream yes. This is actually the way to do it..putting people in a fight that can draw ratings. It's not like this is a common occurence ..they do it when they see an opportunity to hit it big with the ppv buys/ratings. It's a win/win , I haven't watched TUF since like season 3 ..and I will now tune in next season.

If that is the mentality UFC has, then they will never break through to the level they want. There is a reason boxing is a considered a joke sport and is on life support barring a handful of fighters who still draw. Yes, the system is different than team sports league but you can't seriously as a legitimate sports league if actually being the best at what you do doesn't take precedence over being popular or being able to talk shit.

So who is 'the best' right now at 205lbs?? Hendo is hurt, Machida turned the fight down, and Shogun and Gustoffson are already booked to fight each other..

Come on James Steele.. Since you are a better booker than Joe Silva and Dana White..

Just shoulda made Chael vs Forrest an elimination fight.

Although this will bring in more money and save TUF so you can't blame them.

I don't think any of those things really matter Kris P. The fight isn't schduled until April so Hendo's injury status wouldn't be a factor and it's not like the UFC hasn't taken someone already booked off a card before and Machida didn't turn the fight down as much as he didn't want to fight on a short training camp. Chael wasn't chosen because the UFC had no other options.

Chael got this fight because the UFC believes Chael's one-liners are going to rescue TUF. It wasn't about his ability to legitimately challenge Jon Jones. I also believe that Chael has run through most of his routine and most of his "controversial" comments were about Anderson and Brazilians, so most Americans didn't read too much into them. Sonnen can't go the borderline racist/bigot route with Jones and there's only so many times Sonnen can joke about JBJ drinking and driving.

Furthermore, I believe Chael's drawing power is a bit overrated. Silva/Sonnen I was intriguing because Chael was the legitimate number one contender and was the first opponent Silva had who actually engaged Anderson and was dismissive of his talent. No one had ever heard that kind of talk about Anderson and it was refreshing.

Chael dominating Anderson in that first fight legitimized his trash talking and created the intrigue that helped the second fight sell a million pay per views. However, Sonnen wasn't the draw, Sonnen/Silva was. The proof is in the fact that people didn't buy pay per views to watch Sonnen face Stann and the ratings for his # 1 contender fight against Bisping on Fox were terrible.

He doesn't have that mystique going into this fight. We saw Chael get submitted and TKOd by Silva and JBJ is Silva evolved. I think most people who aren't marks know Chael has little chance and aren't going to get suckered into buying this pay per view based on what Chael says on a reality show. It will probably do 450,000 to 500,000 which is what Jones/Belfort did. The "rivalry" between Sonnen and JBJ is manufactured, whereas Sonnen/Silva stemmed from Sonnen being a legit contender and challenge.