IF EVER THERE was an indication of the crazy nature of MMA and the UFC in particular, then look no further than the happenings of the last couple of days.
UFC 151 was scheduled to take place next Saturday in Las Vegas with Jon Jones and Dan Henderson booked in as a main event with the light heavyweight championship belt on the line.
Rumours began to surface midweek that all was not well in “Hendo’s” camp and he could be forced to pull out through injury. Those rumours were confirmed on Thursday and nobody was prepared
for what was to happen next.
MMA merry-go-round
The UFC has always prided itself on the ability to fill a card and find a fighter to step up if another is forced to pull out for any reason.
The company has suffered a recent and well documented injury jinx and has always been able to fulfil its promise of putting on fights that the fans want to see.
The chin and heart of the UFC had been sorely tested by that crisis but it came out seemingly stronger and more resolute until Jon Jones and his manager Greg Jackson this week delivered a devastating knockout blow which forced Dana White into scrapping UFC 151 altogether, the first time they have ever had to cancel an event.
It all started when Dan Henderson was forced to pull out after injuring his knee in training.
As per usual when something like this happens, there are backup plans in place and it looked as if the next in-line for a shot, Lyoto Machida, would step in to fill the breach.
Machida initially turned down the offer before Chael Sonnen personally rung the UFC President to say he would fight Jones on 8days notice only for Jones and his camp to duck out of that fight.
It was the first time in history that a current UFC champion had turned down a fight and it led White into unprecedented waters.
Machida then had a change of heart and a matchup between him and Jones was pencilled in for September 22, but that done nothing to appease a disgusted Dana White who didn’t pull any punches and tore into Jones and his manager Greg Jackson.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll go on the record saying this guy (Jackson) is a f*****g sport-killer.
“This guy is from another planet. I’ve never even seen anything like it in my life.”
The next few weeks promises to be a tough time for the one-time poster boy of the sport as Jones will have to work on rebuilding his reputation.
Then, in the early morning of Friday while most on this side of the Atlantic were long since tucked up in bed, another twist in the saga happened as Machida reneged and decided that he didn’t want to face Jones at UFC 152.
Vitor Belfort has since volunteered to move up a weight division and fight “Bones” at the end of September capping the end of a mad couple of days in the UFC.
Warning, contains strong language:
YouTube Credit: UFC
