In retrospect, UFC president Dana White may have shown a lack of foresight when he put a shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship up for grabs earlier this month.
When White offered a shot at the title to the most impressive fighter among Lyoto Machida, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Ryan Bader and Brandon Vera before the UFC's August 5 fight card in Los Angeles, it wasn't the most popular move, but there was a certain sense to it. For one thing, the UFC had struggled to deliver with its network broadcasts on Fox, either with star power (UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller) or with action (UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis), and with the UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera fight card drawing criticism as well, an extra hook certainly couldn't hurt. As for the title fight itself, Jon Jones could effectively clean out the existing crop of contenders on September 1 when he faces Dan Henderson at UFC 151, as Jones is a heavy favorite to win the fight and retain his title. There are new challengers working their way into title contention - Alexander Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira and Phil Davis, to name three - but they're not quite ready for that kind of opportunity yet. So, there were worse things to do with Jones than give him a rematch with a fighter he's already beaten.
Now that Machida has that golden ticket, however, it would be fair to forgive White a bit of buyer's remorse, particularly after the events of the last week.
For one thing, Jones seems none too enthused about a rematch with Machida, having told ESPN.com that "no one wants to see" that rematch, and that the combination of Machida's challenge as a fighter and the limited reward makes it an unattractive matchup for him. While turning down a matchup because the proposed opponent is "a tricky fighter," Jones is right that there's nothing for him to gain from that fight. If he wins, he's just beating a fighter he's already beaten once. If he loses, then he loses.
Meanwhile, Chael Sonnen has come along, riding into the light heavyweight division with aspirations of challenging Jones for the title. There's almost no way to size up Sonnen and Jones that makes the "Gangster From America" look like a credible challenge for Jones' title, but at the same time, their brief exchanges over Twitter (which Sonnen continued to push over the weekend) have done the job of creating intrigue among fans, and we all know that Sonnen can sell a fight as well as any man in the UFC. Provided that each man wins his next fight - Jones against Henderson, Sonnen against Forrest Griffin - it's hard not to be tempted to throw Jones and Sonnen together.
If this were just about who the most deserving challenger is, it wouldn't even be a question. Machida is a former champion who was believed at one point to be all but unbeatable due to his unorthodox style and world-class skill. Sonnen is an expert wrestler, but one who would be hard pressed to get inside Jones' freakish reach, and even if he did, would find a junior college wrestling champion who has thwarted the attacks of an All-American before (Ryan Bader). However, given that Jones' next fight after Henderson (provided he wins, of course) is a placeholder fight between the older guard (Machida, Shogun, Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans) and the new blood (Teixeira, Gustafsson, Davis), there are worse things that could be done.
In the end, the fact that Machida will be ready much sooner than Sonnen will mean that he gets the next shot, just as he's supposed to. As for Jones' reluctance to take a second Machida fight, that might actually help to sell a rematch. Machida gave Jones his toughest challenge, and Jones' lack of interest in a rematch gives Machida added credibility as a threat.
By the time Sonnen is done fighting Griffin, he may have missed his shot anyway. Gustafsson has a date with Rua at the UFC on Fox 5 fight card on December 8, and Teixeira has a fight with Rampage on October 13 in Rio de Janeiro. A win for either man could put him into title contention, which would eliminate the need for any kind of "placeholder" title defense for Jones. That having been said, however, the UFC could certainly find a way to make Jones vs. Sonnen happen sooner or later.
