After losing to Anderson Silva in an underwhelming performance back at UFC 148, Sonnen was stopped in 4:33 against UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, on Saturday night at UFC 159.

Sonnen didn’t really deserve a title fight in the first place. He hadn’t fought at 205 pounds in the UFC in over six years, yet somehow got an immediate title fight with Jones.

Sonnen can sell a fight, but even his promos are outdated and tiresome. If you really want to know where Chael Sonnen gets his material, watch tapes of pro wrestling from the 90s.

I will give credit to Sonnen for being one of the best at 185 pounds, but he had no business competing against Jones on Saturday night, and with an unimpressive loss in the first round, he finds himself without any direction for his career.

A rematch with Silva isn’t in the cards and he certainly isn’t going to talk his way into a rematch with Jones after failing to put forth much offense on Saturday night.

Sonnen should do what he does best and that is sell fights, but not for himself, for the UFC. He should stick to being a broadcaster and realize that he had a successful career, despite not winning a title.

Jones came into the fight as the heavy favorite and he dominated most of the fight. Jones did nearly get caught in an armbar in the early going, but escaped and controlled the fight from there. Jones used his grappling and elbows to bloody up Belfort, and in the fourth round, caught the challenger in an Americana for the victory.

Belfort deserves credit for his effort and taking the fight on short notice in a bigger weight class, but Jones is just the better man.

With Dan Henderson dealing with his injury, there is no clear contender for Jones in the 205-pound division. That champion is becoming as dominant in his class as Anderson Silva is at 185 pounds.

In the co-main event, Demetrious Johnson won the first ever UFC Flyweight Championship with a decision victory over Joseph Benavidez.

The fight had a fast pace and was very competitive, as expected. The difference in the bout was the array of leg kicks that Johnson landed on Benavidez. The kicks slowly wore down Benavidez and allowed Johnson to control the pace. Benavidez still did enough to earn the victory on one of the scorecards, but Johnson was the victor on the other two cards, and in the eyes of most of the fans.

Johnson now is the first 125-pound champion in the UFC. It will be interesting to see how this division grows in the near future with a thin roster of talent in the weight class.

In another big bout, middleweight Michael Bisping defeated Brian Stann by decision to improve his ranking in the 185-pound class.

Bisping was able to out-point Stann with his technical striking and wrestling ability. Bisping actually utilized some nice takedowns in the latter stages of the fight to neutralize Stann.

Looking at Bisping, his resume is pretty strong and it appears he deserves a title shot. He has never been given a crack at the gold but has steadily been near the top of the division for years.

Check out the full results after the jump.

UFC 152 Results (Courtesy of MMAMania.com)

Air Canada Centre – Toronto, Canada

Saturday, September 22, 2012

205 lbs.: Jon Jones def. Vitor Belfort via submission (Americana) at 0:54 of round four to retain the light heavyweight championship

125 lbs.: Demetrious Johnson def. Joseph Benavidez via split dec. for first-ever flyweight championship

185 lbs.: Michael Bisping def. Brian Stann via unanimous decision

205 lbs.: Matt Hamill def. Roger Hollett via unanimous decision

145 lbs.: Cub Swanson def. Charles Oliveira via knockout at 2:40 of round one

205 lbs.: Vinny Magalhaes def. Igor Pokrajac via submission (armbar) at 1:14 of round two

155 lbs.: T.J. Grant def. Evan Dunham via unanimous decision

170 lbs.: Sean Pierson def. Lance Benoist via unanimous decision

145 lbs.: Marcus Brimage def. Jim Hettes via unanimous decision

170 lbs.: Seth Baczynski def. Simeon Thoresen via KO at 4:10 of round one

135 lbs.: Mitch Gagnon def. Walel Watson via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:09 of round one

170 lbs.: Kyle Noke def. Charlie Brenneman via TKO (strikes) at 0:45 of round one

The short story is Dan Henderson injured his knee and couldn’t fight next Saturday, prompting the UFC to offer Jon Jones a replacement opponent of Chael Sonnen. Jones, after speaking with his team, declined to take the fight on such short notice.

So, the UFC, instead of finding a new main event, or just running with the card they setup sans the main event, decided to just axe the event altogether.

In the process, they completely threw the light heavyweight champion under the bus.

Normally, I am on Dana White’s side of things. He is a hot head, no doubt, but he usually tells it like it is.

However, blaming Jones for the canceling of an event is simply a convenient way to take the blame off of himself and the UFC.

First off, canceling an entire UFC event is a big deal. It impacts the fighters, the venue, the host city and those that would be working the event.

Many fighters rely on a small paycheck from fighting on the under card simply to make ends meet. Due to the UFC’s venom spewed at Jones, many of those fighters are now taking their anger and frustration out on the champion as well.

But, let’s all take a deep breath and take into consideration two things:

1. Chael Sonnen is a tough opponent, no matter how long he has to prepare or what weight he is fighting at. The man is a grinder and a fighter that poses a great challenge to anyone. For Jon Jones to have 8 days to prepare for him isn’t a lot of time. Certainly it’s not a lot of time for Sonnen either, but he has nothing to lose in this scenario, while Jones does. The fight would be a no-win situation. If Jones won, he wouldn’t get much credit, because he’s fighting a smaller fighter. If he lost, it would be a huge upset and likely cost him millions in future fight purses and sponsorships. It’s easy for all of us not in Jones’ position to throw stones at him, but if we were in his spot, we would be hard pressed to not make the same decision. Jones deserves some blame here and it is disappointing he turned the fight down, but he didn’t cancel the show.

2. Why is the UFC not taking any heat for this? The organization has got so event-happy that it is putting together very weak under cards. If the UFC wasn’t diluting the PPV cards to have so many events, this card would have been strong enough to lose the main event and still go on as planned. If an event taking place or not taking place rides on one man, it wasn’t much of an event to begin with. Also, let’s realize that the UFC is doing the exact same thing that Jon Jones is doing. If the UFC wasn’t trying to do what’s best for its own pocket book, this event would still be taking place. There is no reason, if the UFC is so honorable and great, that they can’t have the fights that are still on the card take place next Saturday in Las Vegas. If losing a lot of money wasn’t their concern, like it was for Jones, they would deal with the bad attendance gate and the awful PPV numbers and just take the hit. If they were about the fighters and the fans as much as they are trying to sound like they are right now, they would accept the financial loss and not be pushing it all on Jones. They can certainly afford to pay the under card fighters and put on somewhat of a show for those that already have plane tickets and hotel reservations. But, instead they want to try to save as much money as they can and blame it all on Jones.

How would you feel to be Jones right now? Would you want to even compete in the UFC again? The UFC needs Jon Jones right now just like he needs the UFC.

Jones is becoming a huge star. He is the first to land a sponsorship deal with Nike. He can be the face of this sport and this franchise, making unimaginable money for himself and the UFC along the way.

It appears the UFC and Dana White would rather act like children because they didn’t get their way this one time. For once, a fighter faced with a truly problematic situation, didn’t drink the Kool-Aid.

Let’s not forget that Jones fought five times in 14 months recently. He has been a workhorse for the UFC. He does the promotional tours and public appearances for each of those fights. God forbid that he wanted more than 8 days to prepare for a fighter that nearly beat Anderson Silva.

Many of you may disagree with me, but take the UFC blinders off for a minute and really break this whole thing down. It’s not as cut and dry as Dana White wants you to think it is.

The UFC Light Heavyweight Champion ran through another opponent at UFC 135, beating Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by submission in the fourth round to retain his title.

The first three rounds saw Jones dictate the fight with his long reach, especially with his kicks. Jackson was never able to get inside that long reach, but did show some good takedown defense in the fight.

Once the fourth round came, Jones caught Jackson with a big straight punch that seemed to stun Jackson. The fight then soon went to the ground and Jones quickly secured a rear-naked choke and forced a tap of Jackson. It was just the second submission loss of Jackson’s career and his first since 2001.

Jones seemed to only hurt himself in the fight as opposed to take damage from Jackson. He appeared to injure his feet from throwing a number of kicks at Jackson. Hopefully he doesn’t have a broken foot so he and Rashad Evans can face off sooner rather than later.

In the co-main event, Josh Koscheck knocked out Matt Hughes at 4:59 of the first round to get his first win in over a year. Hughes put on an impressive striking display in the early portion of the round but eventually got cracked, and that led to the finish.

Hughes hinted that Saturday’s loss could be his last fight, but didn’t say the actual word “retire”. I will touch more on that tomorrow.

For full UFC 135 results, check out the jump.

UFC 135 Results (Courtesy of MMAWeekly.com)

-Jon Jones def. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:14, R4

-Josh Koscheck def. Matt Hughes by KO at 4:59, R1

-Mark Hunt def. Ben Rothwell by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 30-27)

-Travis Browne def. Rob Broughton by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

-Nate Diaz def. Takanori Gomi by submission (arm bar) at 4:27, R1

-Tony Ferguson def. Aaron Riley by TKO (broken jaw) at 5:00, R1

-Tim Boetsch def. Nick Ring by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

-Junior Assuncao def. Eddie Yagin by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

-Takeya Mizugaki def. Cole Escovedo by TKO (strikes) at 4:30, R2

-James Te Huna def. Ricardo Romero by KO at :47 seconds, R1

The card features a light heavyweight championship bout and a number of exciting fights.

Here are my picks for the main card bouts.

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship – Jon Jones (13-1) vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (32-8) – Jones faces his biggest challenge to date in his young MMA career while Rampage is looking to stay in the spotlight of the UFC. There are some big questions here as Jones has yet to face any adversity in the octagon or really have his chin tested. Jackson has big power in both his hand, and if he can get inside the reach of Jones, he can knock him out. However, Rampage is somewhat one dimensional, using just boxing to win fights. I have no doubt that Jones has the ability to get Jackson to the ground if he so chooses. I think he will use his kicks and jabs to keep Jackson uncomfortable in the beginning and then eventually get the fight to the ground where I see him finishing Jackson with ground-and-pound strikes. Look for Jones to win this one in the third round.

UFC Welterweight Bout – Matt Hughes (46-8) vs. Josh Koscheck (17-5) – Hughes was originally scheduled to face Diego Sanchez, but an injury forced Koscheck into the mix. Hughes had a better chance of beating Sanchez in my opinion as I don’t see him being able to wrestle Koscheck to the ground. Koscheck seems to be the better wrestler and the better striker in this fight. Koscheck’s only issue is that he is a wild striker, so he could leave himself open to a counter by Hughes. Hughes doesn’t have great power, but Koscheck doesn’t have a great chin. Still, I see Koscheck doing enough to earn a decision win over the UFC Hall of Famer.

UFC Heavyweight Bout – Travis Browne (11-0-1) vs. Rob Broughton (15-5-1) – Browne appears to be a rising star in the heavyweight division. He has some great striking as he uses his powerful fists and mixes in nice leg kicks. Broughton is tough, but I think he is the sacrificial lamb in this fight to push Travis Browne into the MMA spotlight. Look for Browne to win by TKO in the first round.

UFC Lightweight Bout – Nate Diaz (13-7) vs. Takanori Gomi (32-7) – Gomi fought Nick Diaz years ago in an amazing fight and I see this bought being just as exciting. The big issue with Gomi is that he tires easily and that will allow Diaz to get him to the ground and secure a choke. I like Nate Diaz to win by rear-naked choke in the third round of this one.

UFC Heavyweight Bout – Ben Rothwell (31-7) vs. Mark Hunt (6-7) – Hunt was promising back in the day, but he just doesn’t have the skills to compete with most in the UFC. I see Rothwell overwhelming him early in the fight and getting a TKO finish with a flurry of punches in the first round.

The main event of Jon Jones vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson had a little intensity added to the anticipation of the fight as the two had an intense stare down after each weighing in at 204 pounds for their UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout.

Jones, who typically looks off to the side during a stare down, looked right in the eyes of Jackson, which led Rampage to look back and tell him “I’m going to end your hype.” Jones kept yelling “Let’s Go” back, but nothing physical took place. Both men looked in good shape and ready for a war on Saturday night.

Matt Hughes weighed in at 170 pounds for his welterweight showdown with Josh Koscheck, who came in at 170.5 pounds. There wasn’t much added by their stare down, as they stayed pretty distant from each other. Koscheck had a very intense and focused mindset, as he looked like he was ready to get into the cage as soon as possible.

For the full weigh-in results for Saturday’s UFC 135 card, check out the jump.

UFC 135 Weigh-In Results

Denver, Colorado

Jon Jones (204) vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (204)

Matt Hughes (170) vs. Josh Koscheck (170.5)

Travis Browne (255) vs. Rob Broughton (261)

Nate Diaz (156) vs. Takanori Gomi (155)

Ben Rothwell (263) vs. Mark Hunt (261)

Tony Ferguson (155) vs. Aaron Riley (156)

Tim Boetsch (186) vs. Nick Ring (185)

Junior Assuncao (145) vs. Eddie Yagin (145)

Takeya Mizugaki (135) vs. Cole Escovedo (135)

James Te Huna (205) vs. Ricardo Romero (205)

Betting odds have been released for this weekend’s bouts and Jones is the overwhelming favorite to defeat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson on Saturday. Jones has been given a money line of -485 while Jackson has odds of +385. Jones (13-1) has ran through his last four opponents, winning each fight by TKO or submission. Jackson (32-8) has won his last two bouts, both coming by decision. Jackson has had six of his last seven fights end with a decision, as his last KO win was in 2008.

In the co-main event, Josh Koscheck is the clear favorite to defeat Matt Hughes in a welterweight contest. Koscheck has odds of -455 to defeat Hughes, while the former welterweight champion has odds of +355 to win. Koscheck (15-5) is taking this fight on short notice and he hasn’t competed since last December when he lost to Georges St. Pierre. Hughes (45-8) hasn’t competed since last November, when he lost in 21 second to B.J. Penn. Hughes doesn’t have much left to fight for, but still is a dangerous wrestler with some good submission skills.

For complete odds for UFC 135, check out the jump.

UFC 135 Betting Odds

Saturday, Sept. 24

Pepsi Center

Denver, Col.

Jon Jones (-485) vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (+385)

Matt Hughes (+355) vs. Josh Koscheck (-455)

Rob Broughton (+295) vs. Travis Browne (-365)

Takanori Gomi (+210) vs. Nate Diaz (-260)

Mark Hunt (+265) vs. Ben Rothwell (-325)

Aaron Riley (+245) vs. Tony Ferguson (-305)

Nick Ring (+140) vs. Tim Boetsch (-170)

James Te Huna (-160) vs. Richardo Romero (+130)

Cole Escovedo (+155) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (-185)

Junior Assuncao (-130) vs. Eddie Yagin (+100)