Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen to coach 'The Ultimate Fighter 17,' fight on April 27

[TopsyTurvy]

Jones arm is injured and is gonna be out longer than Hendo.... Why it doesn't make sense. Dana White said that his plan was to do Jones vs Hendo on Super Bowl weekend but then found out that Jones was gonna be out until April so he decided to go this route instead..... That doesn't make a damn bit of sense. So because the champion is hurt the challenger gets jumped out of his spot?

http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publ...le_14702.shtml

... and that's even better. The timing doesn't work for either fighter; Sonnen is arguably a larger draw than Hendo (for that show if not the event), split the difference and run with it. Injuries happen in fighting - they force titles (not just rankings) to be vacated -- Hendo/Machida for a vacated belt would work just as well. It's not like Sonnen is completely out of left field - he's one of the few options available. The matchmaking (and show) must go on.

You're going to have both the organization and the fighter's talking out of their ***** regarding this decision. Hendo is upset (or at the very least cynical via his twitter), yet Dana and the UFC named Lyoto the number one challenger after defeating Bader (in August) and Lyoto declined to fight Jones on short notice after the Henderson injury. I don't think there was any single decision that made perfect matchmaking or business sense.

Henderson isn't really getting a raw deal at all other than facing the 'twilight' of his career with the uncertainty of whether he gets another title shot [payday] in the future. It sucks, especially for a legend of the sport, but that's the fight game in a nutshell.

The sentiment that this somehow damages the integrity of the MMA as a sport is a ludicrous non-starter.

[Vinny642]

I didn't know the extent of Jones' injury was THAT bad... he got two fights in this year, not bad. I can't wait intol GSP is back

[Thumper 88]

Haha Hendos tweet was a good one. If Dana is smart he won't say anything.

[Thumper 88]

Lyoto just tweeted now. Lol I have always liked you Dana but Damn this was the wrong move.


Also I was reading a article from yahoo about cheal and Jones and the headliner was "The UFC giving the fans what they want, but is it the right move?" so is it just me and a few people on this forum that think this is not what we want? And of course its not the right move

[TopsyTurvy]

Lyoto just tweeted now.

Lyoto has even less firm ground to stand on. He lost to Shogun and Rampage, defeats Couture and goes straight for a title shot? Then there is the whole not taking the fight when it was offered bit...

The situation dictates there was no right move at all. People quickly forget that this is STILL fallout from the cancelled event. Someone at the top is getting dropped: A legend, a champion, or a challenger.

[steelcityroller]

They said on sherdog today that apparently the UFC had to compromise to get TUF moved off of Friday nights. The compromise was that Fox would move the show to another night but the UFC needed to put these guys on there as the coaches.

[steelcityroller]

Something else to keep in mind is that just because these guys are coaching on the show that doesn't mean the fight will ever happen..... Chuck vs Tito III and Brock vs JDS were instances where you could see them going for starpower and predictably didn't happen and were just for show. This could end up being the same way and us seeing somebody like the Gus vs Shogun winner get that shot.

[Thumper 88]

Possible if injury were to occur

[zn23]

Something else to keep in mind is that just because these guys are coaching on the show that doesn't mean the fight will ever happen..... Chuck vs Tito III and Brock vs JDS were instances where you could see them going for starpower and predictably didn't happen and were just for show. This could end up being the same way and us seeing somebody like the Gus vs Shogun winner get that shot.

I think that was mainly due to an injury.

But I knew that FOX clearly had to get involved. I'm wondering when they will air the show. I mean realistically they could do Monday Night, cause the NFL season will end by then. Tuesday, Wed, Thursday are probably the most likely dates.

[Thumper 88]

Lyoto has even less firm ground to stand on. He lost to Shogun and Rampage, defeats Couture and goes straight for a title shot? Then there is the whole not taking the fight when it was offered bit...

The situation dictates there was no right move at all. People quickly forget that this is STILL fallout from the cancelled event. Someone at the top is getting dropped: A legend, a champion, or a challenger.

First off the loss to rampage was conversable and he didn’t just come off a win from Randy. Before the Bader fight they were all told whoever has the best performance gets the next shot. He was obviously the best performer of the 4 so he gets the next title shot Dana says... But wait! There’s more!

Dan Henderson gets injured and doesn’t tell anyone (not Lyoto's fault) but his good friend Cheal in hopes that Cheal could get the shot. When Dan decides it’s time to break the news Lyoto was somewhere in the jungle with his family on vacation. Dana scrambles trying to save the card but cant because the card was garbage. So he cancels UFC 151 and the blame train starts. Now he say's Lyoto is fighting Jones with less than 4 weeks to train.

Lyoto got the call from Ed Sores while he's in the jungle and say's you're fighting Jones in 4 weeks want to start training? Umm..... He fought Jones on a short camp last time, if he loses again he will NEVER get a shot so the man needs a full camp. Understandable? I think so.

Dana could have pushed the event back 2 weeks to make this happen but would not because he is still in full rage mode of the crap card he threw together and had to cancel it because of it (none of this is Lyoto's fault). So really if Dan would have notified someone of the injury when it happened it would have saved the event and Lyoto would have received his title shot. But in the end it is what it is.

I personally think the next in line should be Hendo then Lyoto then winner of Rua Gus.

What I think is going to happen is winner of Rua Gus gets winner of Hendo Lyoto. That winner then gets the next shot.

[TopsyTurvy]

What I think is going to happen is winner of Rua Gus gets winner of Hendo Lyoto. That winner then gets the next shot.

Yup and the tragedy there is the canceled card set everyone back one fight - one punch away from losing an opportunity they otherwise had. In many regards it's not much different than a champion vacating a belt due to injury - it's all part of the game.

The hindsight on this come next October/November (after the second batch of fights) will be crystal clear.

[Thumper 88]

Yup and the tragedy there is the canceled card set everyone back one fight - one punch away from losing an opportunity they otherwise had. In many regards it's not much different than a champion vacating a belt due to injury - it's all part of the game.

The hindsight on this come next October/November (after the second batch of fights) will be crystal clear.

I see it being Lyoto vs Shogun III for the next shot...

[yanks19791024]

Whatever I guess it will sell well, just sucks no LHW or BW champ fights until almost May of next year!!!

[tnewkirk]

First off the loss to rampage was conversable and he didn’t just come off a win from Randy. Before the Bader fight they were all told whoever has the best performance gets the next shot. He was obviously the best performer of the 4 so he gets the next title shot Dana says... But wait! There’s more!

Dan Henderson gets injured and doesn’t tell anyone (not Lyoto's fault) but his good friend Cheal in hopes that Cheal could get the shot. When Dan decides it’s time to break the news Lyoto was somewhere in the jungle with his family on vacation. Dana scrambles trying to save the card but cant because the card was garbage. So he cancels UFC 151 and the blame train starts. Now he say's Lyoto is fighting Jones with less than 4 weeks to train.

Lyoto got the call from Ed Sores while he's in the jungle and say's you're fighting Jones in 4 weeks want to start training? Umm..... He fought Jones on a short camp last time, if he loses again he will NEVER get a shot so the man needs a full camp. Understandable? I think so.

Dana could have pushed the event back 2 weeks to make this happen but would not because he is still in full rage mode of the crap card he threw together and had to cancel it because of it (none of this is Lyoto's fault). So really if Dan would have notified someone of the injury when it happened it would have saved the event and Lyoto would have received his title shot. But in the end it is what it is.

I personally think the next in line should be Hendo then Lyoto then winner of Rua Gus.

What I think is going to happen is winner of Rua Gus gets winner of Hendo Lyoto. That winner then gets the next shot.

how? they had the press conference more than 2 months before the fight?

[Thumper 88]

I thought the same thing until someone brought it up. I don't have the link for it