One thing I agree with Chael on is how fighting for the title should be the only thing that matters. Guys who aren't calling out the champion shouldn't be here. As its been said, he seems to be the only one doing it.
I can see how and why he got his last two title shots. This one seems crazy, but whatever.
He's only lost to world champions in his last 3 losses, so who knows how good he really is at 205? I think Chael is def. better than his detractors think.
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Waiting for something to happen
His trash talking sells fights to the casual viewer, so I guess that's what Dana is betting on. After all the hype, the fight itself will be nothing more than a one-sided beatdown. We all know it.
His trash talking sells fights to the casual viewer, so I guess that's what Dana is betting on. After all the hype, the fight itself will be nothing more than a one-sided beatdown. We all know it.
If Gustafsson beats Shogun, I think he has a pretty good case for getting the title shot. The same could be said for the winner of the eventual Henderson/Machida fight. They could have just waited until January to see how things shake out and then had Jones fight the #1 contender in April/May.
I guess they wanted to get started on filming the next season of TUF so they had to make a quick decision but they didn't have to put Jones on TUF. If Gustafsson wins his fight, he'll have to wait for almost a year before he gets to fight Jones or will they make him fight again? Same goes for Henderson, Machida, and Shogun. Meanwhile two MWs are just handed title shots.
Worse than that, Jones wont be fighting a legitimate challenger until Oct 2013. That's if there are not delays caused by injury or whatnot.
At least Davis has wins over the likes of Boetsch , Lil Nog and Gustafsson at 205 and is coming of a win. That's not much but it's more than what Chael accomplished as of late.
That or they could just have scrapped one of Machida - Hendo or Shogun vs Gustafsson and give Hendo or Gus to Jones.
Chael just doesn't make any sense whatsoever other than from a business/ratings/buyrates perspective.
The coaching gig at TUF 17 will be old hat for Sonnen, who helps coach his old school's wrestling team and does wrestling seminars with some of the best motivational speeches mixed in. I'm hoping he does some of this in TUF:
Chael doesn't deserve the title shot and I would've liked to see him get at least one fight at 205, but this will at least make TUF interesting and the lead up to this fight will be awesome. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved really.
Rumor has it that Bonnar will step in for Sonnen and fight Forrest Griffin at UFC 155.
Another rumor making it's rounds is that Sonnen was just offered the TUF spot / Jones fight yesterday ( 10-16 ) and accepted immediately. Jones took over a week to negotiate a deal before agreeing. Old school meets new school.
Worse than that, Jones wont be fighting a legitimate challenger until Oct 2013. That's if there are not delays caused by injury or whatnot.
Just a mind boggling move by the company.
$$$$$$. Let's face it, aside from the Silva superfight (or perhaps one with Cormier), there just weren't a whole lot of intriguing options. Will Jones likely dominate this fight? Sure, but he'd likely do the same to Hendo or Gustafsson. At least with this the build up will be highly entertaining. Not to mention it gets TUF off life support. Smart business move here by the UFC.
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Originally Posted by I am the Liquor
Davis has nothing to offer.
Less than no chance against Jones.
Agreed.
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Originally Posted by Peter Griffin
Chael doesn't deserve the title shot and I would've liked to see him get at least one fight at 205, but this will at least make TUF interesting and the lead up to this fight will be awesome. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved really.
Rumor has it that Bonnar will step in for Sonnen and fight Forrest Griffin at UFC 155.
Good way for Bonnar to go out. Complete that trilogy and call it a career.
A lot of people seem to think Forrest should retire but I think he can still compete. Maybe not with the elite fighters but it's not like he's Chuck or Wanderlei. He's only 33 years old and is 3-1 in his last 4 fights.
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Originally Posted by Live in the Now
On the contrary, I've read on Bloody Elbow that Cerrone vs. Pettis is targeted for January.
$$$$$$. Let's face it, aside from the Silva superfight (or perhaps one with Cormier), there just weren't a whole lot of intriguing options. Will Jones likely dominate this fight? Sure, but he'd likely do the same to Hendo or Gustafsson. At least with this the build up will be highly entertaining. Not to mention it gets TUF off life support. Smart business move here by the UFC.
I gotta disagree and Im a big Chael fan. Sure the show will be better/amusing, but who cares? Once again the fans get it in the rear having Jones on the shelf for a calendar year save for the three minutes or less it will take him to beat down a much smaller Sonnen.
I would rather see him face Dan Henderson, Machida again, Gustafsson, Texeira, over Sonnen.
Im telling ya the ufc is becoming more and more like wwe all the time.
If the tuff show is running out of steam, maybe it is time to let it die and come up with something new, that's fresh?
Tying up champions with this stupid, contrived show isnt the way to go.
I don't know, I don't think Chael deserves a title shot but he did put up a good fight (choked) against (arguably) the best fighter ever Anderson Silva. IMO there is no one at LH who can beat jones so I guess it doesn't matter who they put up him against.
I know that but he's still more deserving than Chael. If the UFC wanted to make a fill in fight while waiting for the winner of Hendo - Machida they should at least have picked a guy that make more sense. That's where Davis enter the equation since all the other top guys are already booked and he just fought which means he would be ready by April. He also never faced Jones so that put a fresh face into the picture. Hell i would be OK with Teixera too even if , like Davis , he doesn't really deserve a shot but it would still be more logical putting Sonnen in there.
And Chael doesn't stand a chance either. Probably even less than Davis - Texeira. He's just there to boost TUF ratings and sells tickets. Sure from business ans $$$ POV it may make sense but its still a blow to the UFC credibility imho.
I wouldn't be so quick to totally right off Sonnen.
They guy did take 5/7 rounds from the greatest MMA fighter of all time after all. And nobody has really gone "all in" on trying to put Jones on his back before.
Obviously, Jones is a big favourite but stylistically this fight will be a look we haven't seen before.
