UFC 159: 'Jones vs Sonnen'

[David]

Well, the main event went completely as planned. It's unfortunate that everything can be scripted except what actually happens in the cage. If this was WWE we would have had Sonnen putting up a real fight, and coming close to winning before Jones finally beat him, leaving the fans happy.

 

Instead we got Jones outwrestling the wrestler and fucking him up against the cage. Game over within 5 minutes. Jones looked as though he was heading to the cage to take part in a glorified sparring session, didn't he? He looked as unconcerned as was humanly possible, singing, dancing, smiling, kissing people and suchlike. He really didn't give a fuck, did he?

 

I feel sorry for any of the fans who bought into the UFC promotional machine selling Sonnen as a credible challenger.

[lambyUK]

Just another bit of info, not sure if these were shown...

 

CM punk was sat in the front row with Lita, Lyoto was there with Ed S, Urijah Faber, Cerrone, Urijah Hall and mighty mouse were there too.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

I spotted Chuck Zito when Jones kissed his Mam and wife. Chuck Zito stands out like a swore thumb.

[ColinBollocks]

I can see Sonnen packing it in. He's still an excellent fighter, but the divisions he's eligible for are ruled by the two best ever (in their weightclass). It's an odd situation he finds himself in; he's undoubtedly one of the best in the World, just not a true great like Jones/Silva.

 

Jones is scary, though. Completely made Sonnen his bitch. They need to sack this GSP/Silva fight (GSP has clearly lost as step and as a result has lost his bottle for the fight) and set up Jones/Silva, I can see Silva getting absolutely murdered too. Otherwise, Jones at heavyweight would be a treat. The division is a bit boring now Lesnar isn't in it and the dullest man in the World, Velasquez, is bossing it.

[wandshogun09]

I spotted Chuck Zito when Jones kissed his Mam and wife. Chuck Zito stands out like a swore thumb.

 

I missed Chuck Zito. He's a long time UFC fan, he used to be there quite a bit in the days of Liddell, Couture and Ortiz. Him and Michael Clarke-Duncan were regulars back then.

 

How I missed him I don't know. He doesn't exactly blend into a crowd does he.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Zito always likes to point out how he's not one of the new celebrity fans that turn up these days. He was at the first UFC event back in 93. He's a bit of a cartoon character, but a good one.

 

Here he is last night with Renzo Gracie. Looking at where he is sitting, he must have got all up in the camera for the only purpose of getting his head on telly.

[wandshogun09]

Zito and Renzo, there's a combination. They should have mic'd them up as an alternate commentary team.

 

Didn't know he was at UFC 1.

[jimufctna24]

I watched this with a non-MMA fan friend in the room so I only really was zoomed in on the Main Event.

 

Chael did all he could, he pushed forward tried to pressure Jones and test to see who was stronger. It was evident when Jones put Chael on his backside the second time that Jones was the stronger man, it was a scaled down Heavyweight bearing down on a Light Heavyweight. Jones's GnP was scary good as usual and Jones did what he needed to get the early stoppage.

 

Chael started in 2010 as a also-ran and fairly unknown to the UFC audience. Thanks to some smart self marketing and natural charisma he has gained pay days and fame that is beyond most MMA fighters, even some Champions and top ranked contenders. He took place in one of the most dramatic fights in UFC history on that Summer night in Oakland against arguably the best MMA fighter ever. Chael can now reap a fruitful career on FOX and be pretty much set for life.

 

It has been quite a ride full of ups and downs, but the past 3 and half years has been a hell of a ride for Chael. He never won the World Title like he dreamed of, but he greatly overachieved what most expected of him. He was pretty much a journeyman and UFC cast off in years before 2010.

 

So here is to you Chael, the man who understood the word "business" in the term fight business.

[I Bent My Wookie]

Having watched this just now and avoided spoilers of any kind all day it was an alright if strange event. Jon Jones' toe is going to be imprinted on my mind for way too long however.

[Dead Mike]

An average event marred by some unfortunate injuries. Healy/Miller was a blinder, really impressed with Pat Healy & look forward to seeing what they give him next. Nelson/Kongo went the way I expected, I had Big Country taking that but thought he might take it via submission. Still, another cracking result for Dana's favourite HW & a match up against Cormier would be my favoured result from the option Dana gave.

The biggest surprise for me was how good Bisping looked against Belcher. I thought a lot of people weren't giving Belcher the credit he deserved in the run up to the fight but Bisping was on another level. His footwork & movement was amazing! Picking his shots & his striking accuracy was a joy to watch. Real shame it ended in the way it did but I don't think it took too much away from him, he had it in the bag & put on a great showing. Who next for Bisping?

 

Finally, the 'main event'. Bit of a dud really, we all knew that's how it would play out & the difference in talent on display was ridiculous. Jones manhandled Chael like he was giving a seminar. I compared it to Silva/Bonnar a couple of times prior to the event but on reflection that fight was a last minute replacement which ended up being a fun bout to appease the Brazilian fans who'd already shelled out. The fact that this was pre-planned sucks massive balls for all those that stumped up for a ticket. The fact Jones said afterwards 'I was meant to go straight to Jamaica after this' indicates he wasn't ever planning on the fight being a two sided affair. Was it confirmed that there was a rip in the canvas that caused the injury? Him still doing the interview as the injury shock set in looked far harder for Jones than anything in the fight. Hats off to him for that, it was a nasty injury & pretty damn professional from the champ.

[wandshogun09]

really impressed with Pat Healy & look forward to seeing what they give him next.

 

I wouldn't mind seeing that Healy vs Melendez fight re-booked now.

 

I had Big Country taking that but thought he might take it via submission.

 

I was going to pick Nelson by sub. When you look at it, Nelson is a BJJ black belt and Kongo's had problems with grapplers so it's a logical train of thought.

 

I went with a Nelson KO/TKO in the end (although I picked the wrong round). If you look at how Nelson fights, despite his BJJ background, he rarely even tries for submissions. He's got 13 KOs and only 5 submissions. Even when he grapples it's more a controlling/ground and pound style, like how he beat Cro Cop.

 

Who next for Bisping?

 

Some might groan at this but I think Bisping vs Okami would be interesting. Bisping isn't easy to dominate with wrestling and his striking is better. Or maybe Jacare if he beats Philippou.

[Dead Mike]

I'd love Bisping/Okami. IMO Bisping is probably the best at getting up of his back/wall walking so the whole question of 'can Okami control him/can Bisping pick off Okami?' makes for an exciting prospect.

[Dai]

Nothing to say about the actual fights, but did anyone else notice someone seemingly talking into the microphones around the cage. Cant remember what was said, but it sounded like a pissed up fan saying random words. It happened once, and then it happened again later on, so they obviously didnt catch the offender the first time.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah Bisping does well against wrestlers. A win over Okami would be the type of win to get him back into title contention as well. If he beat Okami, and then beat a Rockhold or Jacare he'd be coming off 3 good wins and could see himself finally getting the title shot.

 

Another possible opponent for Bisping is Cung Le. That's pretty much guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser. Would be a good main event for the rumoured UK event in October.

[Dead Mike]

Another possible opponent for Bisping is Cung Le. That's pretty much guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser. Would be a good main event for the rumoured UK event in October.

 

That's not a bad call. Up until his win over Franklin I'd considered Cung to be more of an 'exhibition bout' fighter as opposed to someone you'd be matched up against when nearing contention. Personally, I'd rather Bisping face Okami but if they were to do it in the UK giving Bisping/Cung Li away for free in the US would probably make for a more 'exciting' TV fight for the casuals.

 

On a seperate note, I only watched the UFC 159 countdown this weekend. Obviously they had to spin it some way but there was a lot of talk about Sonnen/Jones being the fight 'the fans wanted'. Did they though? There seemed to be little excitement for the match in the run up to the event & the crowd reaction on the night didn't feel like they were getting a match they'd yearned for? I don't pay as much attention to buy rates & rating as others on here do but are they expecting UFC 159 to be a big event for them?