UFC 152

As everyone in the fighting world is well aware of now, UFC 151 was cancelled a few weeks ago. The reigning light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones was faced with a difficult decision. After his opponent Dan Henderson was forced to withdraw due to injury, the only fighter willing to fight the champ on such short notice was, the infamous Chael Sonnen.

Jones refused to fight Sonnen, citing the fact that it would not be wise to fight Sonnen with 8 days notice. Resident villain of the UFC, Sonnen took to twitter and began to call out Jon Jones for refusing to fight him. All of this combined with the fact that the UFC always bragged about their events never having the possibility of being cancelled, and Jon Jones is now the UFC’s most hated man.

Chael Sonnen has always been biggest trash talker in the sport, but his drive and determination have made him a superstar “villain” within mixed martial arts. A natural middleweight fighter, and coming out of a huge loss for the middleweight belt, it would seem Sonnen would be the one more out of place for this fight. Fighting in a heavier weight class, fighting the world champion, and fighting with 8 days notice, yet he still was more than ready to accept.

Once the media caught sniff that Sonnen was the only man in the UFC willing to fight the champion on such short notice, and how it was the champion who decided to opt out of the matchup, it begs the question. Was Jon Jones, opting out of this fight, a smart decision for his career or ultimately a display of how the so called “world’s baddest man” is actually scared of someone else?

Ultimately, UFC 151 was cancelled, and UFC 152 is schedule to take place September 22, 2012 in Toronto, Canada. Jon Jones will now face Vitor Belfort, a 16 year MMA veteran who is 10 years older than Jones and has some of the worst odds in winning the ever in a fight.

Jon Jones is overwhelming expected to win, and regardless will now face a mountain of scrutiny despite his success. On the other hand if by some extraordinary miracle Belfort wins, it would become his crowning moment of his already storied and illustrious fighting career.