|
Well, if we can nominate MMA PPVs, then I nominate this. UFC 151. The (first) UFC PPV that never happened. Coming off a decision victory over former training partner, Rashad Evans, Jon "Bones" Jones was stated to face Goon favorite, Dan "Hendo" Henderson for the UFC Light Heavyweight title at UFC 151 in September of 2012. However, less than a week before the bout, Henderson pulled out of the fight, citing an injury (He was actually injured three weeks prior, but kept quiet about it because he still wanted to fight). Chael Sonnen, also a goon favorite, volunteered to step in on roughly a weeks notice to fight Jones, who was a weight class above him at the time; Jones declined. The entire event was then scrapped. Jones would move on to defend his title at the following PPV, UFC 152 against noted mutant and foot fetishist, Vitor Belfort. Sonnen would eventually challenge Jones for the title, only to be defeated by 1st round TKO. The whole situation is an example on how the dependence on one mega fight on a card can be disastrous if that fight were not to happen. The blame for the cancellation of 151 is varied, depending on who you talk to. Jones, for not taking an easy defense and screwing other fighters out of a payday; Jones' head trainer, Greg Jackson, who was blamed by Dana White, head of the UFC; Dana White himself, for creating weak cards that can fall apart if the main fight falls apart; and even Dan Henderson has been blamed in some circles for not disclosing of his injury sooner. Okuteru fucked around with this message at 21:21 on Sep 2, 2014 |
#
¿
Sep 2, 2014 06:10
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 14, 2024 07:06 |
|
|
Lid posted:One highlight from this story - Dana called Chael who accepted the fight, because Chael is a company man, but had previously called several other fighters who had all declined (Machida was one off the top of my head, I can't remember the others). There was however one fighter in the UFC who called Dana up by his own volition telling Dana he would fight Jones on a weeks notice. Weidman is just a complete beast. Fun fact about the Jones' title defense against Chael Sonnen: after the fight ended, apparently Jones broke his big toe during the fight. Here's a GIF (Be warned, it's  )http://www.mmamania.com/2013/4/28/4277726/gif-jon-jones-breaks-toe-in-ufc-159-win-over-chael-sonnen. If Chael Sonnen had survived that first round, he would have become the new UFC Light Heavyweight champion due to injury. THIS SPORT.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 2, 2014 21:28
|
|