UFC 159 takes place this weekend, where Jon Jones will look to defend his light heavyweight championship against the highly entertaining Chael Sonnen. The back story as to why this fight was put together is highly interesting. It all started when Jon Jones was slated to face Dan Henderson at UFC 151.
Henderson had to pull out due to a lingering knee injury that was suffered during training. Sonnen would step up, saying he would face Jones on two weeks notice, which was a daunting task for any fighter. However, Jones declined the bout, forcing the UFC to have to cancel the entire card. Dana White would even chastise Jones for declining the bout and declared Greg Jackson, Jones’s head trainer, a sport killer.
Sonnen would also reprimand Jones, saying he didn’t have a champion’s heart for not taking the bout. Several months later, the bout was indeed booked and both men coached against each other on The Ultimate Fighter Season 17. This brings us to now, where Jones will be looking to prove to everyone that this bout shouldn’t have been made in the first place.
He has beaten a who’s who in his division, which includes wins over Rashad Evans, Shogun Rua, Ryan Bader, and Lyoto Machida. If Jones is able to get past Sonnen, he will eclipse Tito Ortiz‘s record for most consecutive title defenses, which may coerce him to move up to the heavyweight division. Despite being so young in the sport, Jones has been able to blend his wrestling, length, and striking abilities to force his opponents off their game.
Even though Sonnen is a huge underdog in this bout, he has the chance to pull off one of the biggest upsets in the sport of MMA. If you break down the fight, Sonnen is arguably the best wrestler Jones has faced thus far in his young fighting career. Sonnen is an Olympic caliber wrestler, and is the only fighter inside the UFC to beat Anderson Silva for four straight rounds. Sure, he was submitted in the final round, but up to that point, he was putting a beating on Silva. No fighter has given Silva as many problems as Sonnen has, which is a true testament to the skills that he possesses.
If Jones doesn’t take Sonnen seriously, he may very well lose his title. Yes, he is one of the greatest talents the UFC has ever seen, but every fighter has holes in their game. This was clearly evident when Vitor Belfort almost broke Jones’s arm in the first round. No fighter is unbeatable, so Jones has to take Sonnen seriously if he wants to continue his aspirations of being the best MMA fighter to ever compete in the sport.
At a glance, this may seem like an easy match up for Jones, but in the world of mixed martial arts, anything can happen. See Matt Serra vs. George St. Pierre.
So will Jones keep his momentum going or will Sonnen pull of one of the greatest upsets in UFC history? Stay tuned!
