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WALKER: Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen on The Ultimate Fighter a joke
Oct 18, 2012 - 4:50:50 PM
WALKER: Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen on The Ultimate Fighter a joke
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By: Brad Walker, MMATorch Columnist

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I remember a simpler time in MMA, when fights were made based on rankings, talent, and relevance to the title picture. Or an even simpler time when the fighter who was most deserving got put into a spot to fight for a title in their division because they had earned it. Sadly for some of us, times have changed, and so has the pecking order for shots at the belt. The question that arises from this mess is this: is it going to stay this way? Will Mark Munoz get the next shot at Anderson Silva, will Dana White leapfrog Cain Velasquez and give Big Nog a shot at Junior Dos Santos? The worst part of it all is these poor decisions are all being made to try and save the beyond awful ratings of a reality television show that isn't doing poorly because of the fighters involved, it's doing poorly because it's no longer entertaining.

The 'live' format for The Ultimate Fighter didn't save it, so instead they're going to take a man who holds no relevance to any title picture, much less the light heavyweight division's and have him coach against and then face Jon Jones on the show. This is absurd beyond words and is so beyond comprehension that even thinking about it makes my head hurt. Chael Sonnen is an exceptionally mediocre fighter whose one claim to fame is almost beating Anderson Silva once. Jon Jones is a dominant champion near the level of Silva himself, except he has an extra foot of reach and, oh yeah, he's 20 pounds heavier. So what was Dana White thinking when he decided this was going to be the next pair to coach TUF and give Sonnen a title shot?

I don't need to point out that Dana swore up and down to the fact that Chael Sonnen would not talk his way into a title shot, yet here we are and there he is, ironic isn't it? It just seems that nothing said by White can be confirmed after a couple of months of standing and watching him undo his very own proclamations. If I were to be doing my rankings right now, Sonnen would not even breach the top 10 for light heavyweight; he is a meager 6-5 in the division with losses to Renato Sobral, Jeremy Horn and Trevor Prangley. He does just enough to get by in the middleweight division, and if you look at his last couple of fights there's nothing to make him a top competitor in either division. Who else can come off of a devastating loss and walk into a title shot?

Dan Henderson, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Shogun Rua, Alexander Gustaffson, Glover Teixeira; these are just some of the names ahead of Sonnen in the pecking order getting absolutely hosed by this decision. It looks like a bigger disgrace than the cancellation of UFC 151 right now because of how hard people's words have been twisted to make this seem legit. I understand that White is very high on Chael Sonnen, but that doesn't mean that anyone else is, and making a crappy matchup to aim for better ratings just makes the entire organization look foolish. This is not going to make the ratings change, if anything it will hopefully be the final fork stuck in The Ultimate Fighter for them to change up the entire show. Who wants to tune in to see a cocky champion coach against a loudmouthed undeserving challenger?

I am willing to bet TUF Live will have had better ratings than this season by the time that it's over simply based on the fact that they're now aiming for entertainment rather than actual competition. Isn't MMA supposed to be a competitive sport rather than a mash up of athletic entertainment? I didn't realize that the UFC had hired Vince Russo to book their matches now. They needed a huge push after the colossal UFC 151 failure to make their product as legitimate as possible in the eyes of the casual fan but instead they have done the exact opposite and made it into a floundering joke. The list of things that is wrong with this scenario is far too long to begin writing because it would take me a decade just to cap it off.

When ratings become more important than competition and legitimacy the bodily excrement has hit the fan in a big way, and not just the figurative fan, but also the MMA fans. A guy like Chael Sonnen has nothing to offer in the cage against Jon Jones, he's going to be unable to take him down and he will receive a five star beating in his effort without question. I would have rather seen him coach opposite someone who isn't a champion like Rashad Evans, then you don't kill your product and you still keep your title contender legitimate. Let him fight his way into a title bout, not just waltz in say "Hey I'm Chael Sonnen" and bang, here's your title shot. At the end of the day if Zuffa, Dana White, Fox and UFC are worried about the ratings maybe they should revamp the show so that the format isn't played out.

This is an absolute travesty for MMA, in a way that can barely be comprehended until we see Sonnen get decimated in the cage and realize it was all a waste. A bad television show mixed with a bad matchup proves that two wrongs won't make a right, and the ratings will speak volumes about the awful decision being made. Sonnen is not a contender or a challenger; he's a loud mouthed fighter who doesn't deserve the opportunity he's being handed on a silver platter. Jones, to his credit, is taking it all in stride because he knows he's going to get a huge paycheck for a fight that probably won't even see him break a sweat. All in all this is a mistake of epic proportions and I hope that Dana White eventually sees the light and doesn't let entertainment get in the way of true competition.

Follow me on twitter @BradMMATorch


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