Penick's Take
PENICK: Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen a desperation move from the UFC, but it works
Oct 16, 2012 - 8:20:18 PM PENICK: Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen a desperation move from the UFC, but it works

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC's decision to book UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones against Chael Sonnen next after a coaching stint on The Ultimate Fighter isn't exactly being met with widespread praise. It made sense that they were entertaining the idea of that fight for UFC 151 in an attempt to save a pay-per-view card, but Sonnen hasn't fought in the light heavyweight division in years, and in his last bout was manhandled by Anderson Silva in their Title rematch.

Not only that, but Sonnen was booked for a fight against Forrest Griffin, a bout which made sense to introduce him to the division in order to put himself in line; and Jones has a number of fighters whom he could have been booked against for an April 2013 return. He was supposed to fight Dan Henderson last month, after all, and keeping that fight intact may have made the most sense from a competitive progression standpoint.

But this move isn't about the competitive progression of the light heavyweight division. The Ultimate Fighter's ratings on FX this season are abysmal, hitting the lowest marks the show has ever seen, and continuing to decrease. The UFC had an easy schedule in place to set this fight up and have it make more sense competitively, as Sonnen could have faced Forrest Griffin as planned in December, Jones could have faced Henderson, and the two could have met by next Summer.

However, with the verbal feud between the two fighters beginning this summer, the blow up over UFC 151 and the fight not coming together, and the sagging ratings on TUF, the UFC clearly felt this was a move that could take care of a number of things.

It's a desperation move for TUF, a chance to get two fighters who are jawing back and forth onto the program in an attempt to bounce ratings back from their current lows. Of course, a move out of a Friday night timeslot is also needed, but seeing as this new season will begin in January, that might still be a possibility. But this is a reactionary move that doesn't make a ton of sense on the surface.

Sonnen was just defeated soundly by Anderson Silva in July. It wasn't even competitive in the rematch, and now he's moving up in weight against a fighter who is bigger than Silva, with a longer reach and a better wrestling game. This isn't a fight anyone expects him to be competitive in, and yet the UFC will attempt to sell it as such, with both fighters using TUF to build up their feud further for a few months before they eventually fight.

Still, even though the fight doesn't make sense from a competitive standpoint, and even though Chael Sonnen isn't a deserving challenger, and even though The Ultimate Fighter is still not likely to bounce back like they hope it will with this move, I can't bring myself to be upset with it.

Here's the deal with the light heavyweight division: Jon Jones has already proven himself as the head and shoulders best in the field. Yes, he hasn't yet fought Dan Henderson, and he hasn't fought Alexander Gustafsson, but of the remaining fighters in the top end of the division, he's defeated them all. He's proven beyond a shadow of the doubt that he deserves recognition as the best 205 lb. fighter in the world.

What Henderson and Gustafsson have not done is prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they deserve to get a shot themselves over anyone else. Gustafsson has his chance when he fights Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in December, and though Henderson was waiting for his shot and was lined up to fight at UFC 151, he hasn't fought since last November. That layoff - not to mention his part in UFC 151's cancellation - dropped him down the UFC's pecking order.

Again, Chael Sonnen doesn't deserve this fight over either of those names, but that's not what this fight is about. What Henderson and Gustafsson don't bring to the table for Jones is easy money, and that's exactly what this fight is. As much of a mismatch as Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar was at UFC 153, this fight is right there as well. Jones is the better fighter in every aspect of the game, not to mention he's got much better physical tools at his disposal as well.

This fight is nothing more than a cash grab for Jones and the UFC, but that's OK. Sonnen isn't any real threat to Jones and his title reign; so while he tries to help the UFC boost ratings for TUF, and then subsequently takes out a man who has insulted and disrespected him any chance he could, other fighters can turn themselves into legitimate title challengers for later in the year.

Depending on when Henderson fights Lyoto Machida, the winner of that bout will either fight Jones next or will fight the winner of Rua-Gustafsson. In the meantime, recent UFC 153 victor Glover Teixeira will work his way into the mix as well by either taking out Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, or perhaps stepping in against Forrest Griffin now that Sonnen's been taken out of that bout.

This obviously isn't an ideal situation, but it's also not an "end of the world" mistake on the UFC's part. The fight itself won't be likely be competitive, but it will most likely be entertaining. Jones will make some money off the fight, the UFC might be able to have a bounce back season of TUF on FX, and the rest of the division can work itself out. Sometimes an entertaining fight is just an entertaining fight, and that's all this bout will be.