Joe Lauzon Explains How Jon Jones' Decision To Not Fight Chael Sonnen Affected The UFC 151 Undercard Fighters

By now, everyone should be well aware that UFC 151 has been cancelled due to a series of events, starting with an injury to Dan Henderson and ending with Jon Jones turning down the one option for a replacement opponent in Chael Sonnen. But what some fan's haven't yet fully taken into consideration is the way that this impacts the fighters who were scheduled for the rest of the card.

Joe Lauzon wrote a quick blog that summed up what Jon's decision means to everyone else:

Not only has this screwed over all the fans that bought tickets, non refundable airfare, took off work, made arrangements, etc... but think of all the fighters. Fighters that put in full camps, flew people in that helped them trains, etc. By the time I am actually fight, I spend close to 20k between corners, flights, expenses, coaches, etc... and then to have the whole show cancelled because ONE guy didn't want to fight. This ONE guy that had trained an entire camp, who was the CHAMP and at the top of his weight class, who was going to fight someone who didn't do the camp, and was fighting UP a weight class.

LINK

Not only will Jones be the most hated man in the UFC by the fans, but the fighters will hate him more than any other guy in that locker room as well, and deservedly so.

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Posted by cowcatcher

Not only will Jones be the most hated man in the UFC by the fans, but the fighters will hate him more than any other guy in that locker room as well, and deservedly so.

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Like Charlie Brenneman near the end of the article.

I wonder what Henry Martinez, Jones's teammate at Jackson's, has to say about this since his fight was scrapped.

Brenneman tweet:

@JonnyBones u can send my check to PO box 198. EH NJ. Rent is due the first, so preferably by then. Thanks. @ufc

although i havent read it, bjpenndotcom said Chael tweeted JJ saying he'd give Jon his purse to fight.

like a story straight out of WWE, JJ has gone heel & Chael is coming out to look like the good guy

I would like to state that thios fight has negativly affected me as well.

I was schedualed to fight on Sept 1st. The promotion I fight for UCFC based out of Arizona puts on live cards in venues during UFC fights. So people pay cover to watch UFC fghts and live fights at the same time. With this event cancelled, my event is cancelled as well.

I already drove from San Francisco to Arizona. Missed my first week of school, and of course the money for gas and stuff.

This decisions affects alot of people.

looks like Takeya Mizugaki will survive a few more weeks. the "Hellbound" train has been delayed

Rogan's comedy show is also cancelled.

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Posted by Poor_Franklin



like a story straight out of WWE, JJ has gone heel & Chael is coming out to look like the good guy

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More than his dominating wins against a string of top contenders at a very young age, his most impressive accomplishment to date.....

Making Chael Sonnen look like the good guy.

As they say "Shit runs downhill"

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Posted by Poor_Franklin

Brenneman tweet:

@JonnyBones u can send my check to PO box 198. EH NJ. Rent is due the first, so preferably by then. Thanks. @ufc

although i havent read it, bjpenndotcom said Chael tweeted JJ saying he'd give Jon his purse to fight.

like a story straight out of WWE, JJ has gone heel & Chael is coming out to look like the good guy

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sooo awesome!!!!!

Lauzon couldn't have said it any better
Jones is selfish. I hope they boo him in Toronto

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Posted by Poor_Franklin

Brenneman tweet:

@JonnyBones u can send my check to PO box 198. EH NJ. Rent is due the first, so preferably by then. Thanks. @ufc

although i havent read it, bjpenndotcom said Chael tweeted JJ saying he'd give Jon his purse to fight.

like a story straight out of WWE, JJ has gone heel & Chael is coming out to look like the good guy

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Awesome



I can't even say what I want to say about Jones

No matter . Everyone and their mom can see he took the easy way out.

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Posted by prozacnation1978

Lauzon couldn't have said it any better
Jones is selfish. I hope they boo him in Toronto

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I have no doubt in my mind that he will be booed...probably for a while

Ya, because we all know it's Jones responsibility to defend his belt, taking fights he hasn't had the chance to properly prepare for on 8 days notice to ensure the guys on the under card get paid.

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Posted by crushedbacon

Ya, because we all know it's Jones responsibility to defend his belt, taking fights he hasn't had the chance to properly prepare for on 8 days notice to ensure the guys on the under card get paid.

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sometime situations arise the require you to work outside your comfort zone. He still would have been better prepared than Chael.

Let me ask you, who would you have picked had Jon not ran with his tail between his legs from Chaels offer?

I've been losing respect for Jones for a while now. This may be the tip of the iceberg. Hes still exciting to watch, but I dont think i will be cheering for him anymore. I just dont understand how the dude would say no. Chael hasnt trained. the only real excuse is he scared, scared of Chael....crazy. Dana, the fighters in the UFC, and the fans have right in the fricken book to be pissed. Puke, fricken PUKE. Im upset. I feel like i could rant all night about how pissed off I am.

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Posted by prozacnation1978

Lauzon couldn't have said it any better
Jones is selfish. I hope they boo him in Toronto

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I hope he gets booed worse than when Vince Carter made his return (sadly that wont happen)

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Posted by crushedbacon

Ya, because we all know it's Jones responsibility to defend his belt, taking fights he hasn't had the chance to properly prepare for on 8 days notice to ensure the guys on the under card get paid.

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Sonnen hasn't been training and would need to cut weight in 8 days...how is Jones at a disadvantage. Put yourself in one of the undercard fighters shoes. You barely get by financially, spent a bunch of money bringing in or going to better trainers, spent months training to achieve what most fighters can only aspire to do (fight in the UFC) and now you don't get paid for months. Go tell your boss not to give you a paycheque for 5 months while dishing out lots of money and see how you like it

I hope everybody scheduled on this card (except Jon Jones) gets some sort of compensation. I know it is a major financial blow to Zuffa but it must be worse for the fighters that have to stay active just to pay the bills.

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Posted by prophecy033

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Posted by crushedbacon

Ya, because we all know it's Jones responsibility to defend his belt, taking fights he hasn't had the chance to properly prepare for on 8 days notice to ensure the guys on the under card get paid.

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sometime situations arise the require you to work outside your comfort zone. He still would have been better prepared than Chael.

Let me ask you, who would you have picked had Jon not ran with his tail between his legs from Chaels offer?

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Whether he's better prepared than Chael isn't the point. Sonnen just lost a MW title fight, fell ass backwards into another title fight offer.... This is a Win/Win for him. A free lunch, no kidding he wants to take it....

If I'm the UFC I don't expect any of my champions to take a new fight on 8 days notice. I sure as hell wouldn't pressure, shame and bully him into doing it either. That's exactly what happened today, The UFC had a ONE Fight PPV and it backfired, and they have nobody else on that card to move up like they've done so many times in the past.... So they corner Jones with basically an ultimatum....Do this our way ....or we cancel the card, everybody will suffer and it will be all your fault...... and when it doesn't work they throw him and anybody that supports him under the bus... See how Dana acts when he loses money and doesn't get what he wants.... like an 8 year old.

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Posted by crushedbacon

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Posted by prophecy033

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Posted by crushedbacon

Ya, because we all know it's Jones responsibility to defend his belt, taking fights he hasn't had the chance to properly prepare for on 8 days notice to ensure the guys on the under card get paid.

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sometime situations arise the require you to work outside your comfort zone. He still would have been better prepared than Chael.

Let me ask you, who would you have picked had Jon not ran with his tail between his legs from Chaels offer?

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Whether he's better prepared than Chael isn't the point. Sonnen just lost a MW title fight, fell ass backwards into another title fight offer.... This is a Win/Win for him. A free lunch, no kidding he wants to take it....

If I'm the UFC I don't expect any of my champions to take a new fight on 8 days notice. I sure as hell wouldn't pressure, shame and bully him into doing it either. That's exactly what happened today, The UFC had a ONE Fight PPV and it backfired, and they have nobody else on that card to move up like they've done so many times in the past.... So they corner Jones with basically an ultimatum....Do this our way ....or we cancel the card, everybody will suffer and it will be all your fault...... and when it doesn't work they throw him and anybody that supports him under the bus... See how Dana acts when he loses money and doesn't get what he wants.... like an 8 year old.

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Not the point, it was one of your points as why he shouldn't have taken the fight. That he didn't have enough time. I said he was better prepared than Chael.

Sonnen was willing to step up and save the card thus him jumping to a title figjt. You step up for the UFC you get rewarded. I'm sorry people don't like it but thems the ropes

Sure, you don't WANT any of your fighters fighting on such short notice and I would prefer each guy get the max training time to prepare but when a guy goes down like Hendo did you have to find a replacement. Some guys come through in under tough circumstances and some don't.

Some will agree with you and some me. I'm fine with all that. I don't feel ill of you for your opinions and o hope you don't me

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Posted by Bubbles

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Posted by crushedbacon

Ya, because we all know it's Jones responsibility to defend his belt, taking fights he hasn't had the chance to properly prepare for on 8 days notice to ensure the guys on the under card get paid.

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Sonnen hasn't been training and would need to cut weight in 8 days...how is Jones at a disadvantage. Put yourself in one of the undercard fighters shoes. You barely get by financially, spent a bunch of money bringing in or going to better trainers, spent months training to achieve what most fighters can only aspire to do (fight in the UFC) and now you don't get paid for months. Go tell your boss not to give you a paycheque for 5 months while dishing out lots of money and see how you like it

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I hear ya that situation sucks, but to blame Jones is ridiculous. If my contract for work wasn't fulfilled or honored, I'd talk to my boss about it. Not blame a co-worker for not coming into work when the bosses changed his contract at the last second.

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Posted by crushedbacon

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Posted by Bubbles

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Posted by crushedbacon

Ya, because we all know it's Jones responsibility to defend his belt, taking fights he hasn't had the chance to properly prepare for on 8 days notice to ensure the guys on the under card get paid.

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Sonnen hasn't been training and would need to cut weight in 8 days...how is Jones at a disadvantage. Put yourself in one of the undercard fighters shoes. You barely get by financially, spent a bunch of money bringing in or going to better trainers, spent months training to achieve what most fighters can only aspire to do (fight in the UFC) and now you don't get paid for months. Go tell your boss not to give you a paycheque for 5 months while dishing out lots of money and see how you like it

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I hear ya that situation sucks, but to blame Jones is ridiculous. If my contract for work wasn't fulfilled or honored, I'd talk to my boss about it. Not blame a co-worker for not coming into work when the bosses changed his contract at the last second.

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would you come in if the night before you were saying you needed the money and your boss said he'd pay you time and a half? May make it worth it.

Imo, Jones would have won that fight easier than if Chael had a full camp. He would have looked good accepting the fight and great when he won. He would have gained more respect AND more fans, both of which he wanted while taking home a FAT payday, also what he wants. I understand he COULD haveost bit I just think he's a more technical superior athlete

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Posted by crushedbacon

Ya, because we all know it's Jones responsibility to defend his belt, taking fights he hasn't had the chance to properly prepare for on 8 days notice to ensure the guys on the under card get paid.

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like i said in the other thread, i don't see how anyone could say jones wouldn't be prepared. he has had a full camp preparing for a wrestler with striking power. chael is exactly that but without the striking... no excuse to say no when you have had a full camp and a guy gets 8 days. with the so called genius greg jackson, he could have done the work in 5 days to get chael plus all jones takes about is breaking titos record, if your gonna act fake humble cause ur so cocky then back it up

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Posted by prozacnation1978

Lauzon couldn't have said it any better
Jones is selfish. I hope they boo him in Toronto

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I can guarantee it

Some agree with Jones, some don't. This is the way I see it. Jones has two choices: to take the fight, to turn down the fight. There are plenty of reasons to persuade Jones to make either choice. The choice Jones makes will directly reflect the type of person he is.

Choosing to take the fight saves the card, pleases the fans, helps his fellow fighters, helps the UFC, and many more. The catch is Jones himself will be taking the added risk.

Choosing to turn down the fight scraps the card, upsets the fans, let's down his fellow fighters, wastes the UFC's time and money, and many more. The catch is Jones takes no added risk.

Jones chose to turn the fight down. Way to show your true colors Jones. Not that many of us didn't already know.

What I think this whole situation illustrates, is that the UFC is doing too many PPVs. You can't hinge an entire card on 1 fight There just isn't enough talent to keep doing so many PPV cards back to back. The UFC needs to start doing PPVs about every 45 days, stacking the cards a little more and putting more on free TV. I'm a hardcore fan I get most PPVs, I used to look forward to them, anymore I kind of dread how soon the next fight is. It sucks to pay 100$ a month to watch the sport I love. On a side note I think this is the 1rst time they've ever cancelled an event.