UFC 151 canceled after Henderson's withdrawal, champ Jones' refusal to fight Sonnen

[timster]

With Dan Henderson (29-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC) injured, the UFC has canceled next week's UFC 151 event.

Henderson was scheduled to fight UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones (16-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) in the headliner of the top-heavy pay-per-view card.

According to UFC president Dana White, recent middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen (28-12-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC) offered to take the bout, but Jones told him he wouldn't fight him on eight days' notice. That drew White's rage, as evident on today's media call.

UFC 151 was slated to take place next Saturday, Sept. 1, at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. It's not clear what will happen to the card's other 10 matchups.

According to White, Jones now will fight Lyoto Machida (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in the headliner of UFC 152, which take place Sept. 22 at Toronto's Air Canada Centre.

According to White, Henderson, who was competing for the first time since a Fight of the Year win over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in November, suffered a partial MCL tear. White isn't sure of a time table for the fighter's return.

"He tried to train and tried to continue to work out," White said of Henderson's knee injury. "He saw doctors, and there was nothing we could do to save that fight."

Stay tuned for more on this story.

[LuckyLarry]

too bad....wonder why Bones doesn't want to fight Sonnen???

[FTA]

too bad....wonder why Bones doesn't want to fight Sonnen???

cuz sonnen hangs with the big boys and prolly turn his face into burger lol!

[OldBear]

UFC 152: Jones vs Belfort
Ultimate Fighting Championship - UFC 152 wiki
Saturday, September 22, 2012 - MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Event
Location: Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Broadcast: PPV (prelims on FX and Facebook)

[ICEMAN]

Jon Jones Apologizes, Takes the Blame
Everyone was stunned on Thursday when company president Dana White cancelled UFC 151 after light heavyweight champion Jon Jones declined to fight Chael Sonnen on just eight days notice. Jones’ original opponent, Dan Henderson, dropped out due to a knee injury.

Of course, UFC officials were the ones that made the ultimate determination to pull the plug on the pay-per-view event just a week out, but Jones is the one that has been the target of everyone’s venom. Fans, fighters, media, and White have all put the bullseye squarely on the back of the 25-year-old 205-pound champion.

Chael Sonnen, in particular, has rather harshly criticized Jones’ decision, doing numerous media appearances, talking about the situation and how it was handled.

Jones on Saturday took to Twitter to accept the burden, apologizing to fighters and fans alike.

“Carrying the cross for my company’s decision. If someone has to take the blame, I will accept full responsibility for the way UFC 151 was canceled,” Jones tweeted. “I want to sincerely apologize to all the other athletes/fans who’s time and money was waisted (sic).

“I feel terrible about the way that was handled.”

Many of the undercard fights have been moved to other upcoming events. Jones will now square off with Vitor Belfort in the UFC 152 main event on Sept. 22 in Toronto.

[TLG]

I don't blame Jones at all .. we can't expect a champ to take a fill-in fight !

fillers are for the under card ,, below the co-main event.

[bellxvue]

not from me

Quote:

Tweet Of The Day: Jon Jones Begins Shifting Blame To Dan Henderson For UFC 151 Cancellation

Days after his tweets "apologizing" for his role in the cancellation of UFC 151, Jon Jones has already stepped back away from his "carrying of the cross." In a tweet this afternoon, Jones agreed with a fan who placed the blame on Dan Henderson for his injury not coming to light earlier.

Here's the tweet:

Glad you guys are opening up your eyes "@bladerballer: @jonnybones Hendo injured 3+ weeks ago?!!? Who carries the blame now?"
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) August 27, 2012

Now, there is something to be said for the idea that Henderson's injury came far enough in advance that there could have been more time to adapt and save the show. I'm not inside either Henderson's camp or the UFC to know if they were made aware of the injury but I was told that it wasn't until specialists fully understood the extent of the injury that Henderson was ruled out.

The real issue with Jones' tweet is the inconsistent messaging. If he wants to tweet that he'll "carry the cross," that needs to be the message. Adding in "but really, it's his fault" just makes things muddled and kind of ugly. If their stance was "where was Henderson letting everyone know as soon as he hurt his knee?" Then that should have been the message Jones and his team have put out there strongly without wavering from the beginning.

Anything as simple as "Had we known that Henderson was hurt and may have had to pull out of the bout three weeks in advance, we could have worked with the UFC to come up with a replacement fight to save the event. Unfortunately, that did not happen and we weren't comfortable with the last minute switch. We apologize to the fans, but there are times when we have to protect our own best interests. I can promise you that I'll deliver the next time out."

That wouldn't seem to be too difficult, would it? Instead, we've seen an "apology" and then blame. It's a continuing PR trainwreck.

[TLG]

you are right ,, and while I agree that when you assume responsibility,, you need to
keep your word and move forward ,, and not come back with a quote to minimize
and or reverse or lessen your position ... Jones was ill advised or jumped and wronged.

but I still maintain that we cant expect any champ to take a fill in fight, it lessens the sport
and undermines the integrity of fighters at that level.

White should have just moved the co-main event to the main event and salvaged what ever
remains of that night.