Jon Jones passed on a replacement opponent at UFC 151. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
2. Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson
UFC 151 “Jones vs. Henderson” | Sept. 1, 2012
Henderson experienced an incredible late-career resurgence following a lackluster decision loss to Jake Shields in his Strikeforce debut. First, he blasted Renato Sobral into unconsciousness, cementing a tight decision victory he had earned more than a decade beforehand in their initial meeting.
Next, he took out reigning light heavyweight champion Rafael Cavalcante with surprising ease. That set up an all-timer of a matchup with Fedor Emelianenko, which the underdog Henderson took with a bomb of a right hand during a scramble. Henderson made his triumphant return to the UFC, taking a razor-thin decision from Mauricio Rua in one of the best fights ever.
That victory over Rua set up the title matchup with Jones. By that point, the phenom had already defended his belt three times, most recently taking an easy decision from Rashad Evans in a highly anticipated matchup. Few thought Henderson would have much to offer Jones, but the old-timer had more than earned one last shot at the crown.
Disaster struck nine days out from the event. UFC 151 was an incredibly thin card, with a scheduled co-main event of Jay Hieron-Jake Ellenberger, and when Henderson pulled out with a knee injury, the event rested on Jones’ shoulders. He refused to take a short-notice matchup with Chael Sonnen -- not unreasonable, given the disparity in styles between Sonnen and Henderson -- and the UFC was forced to cancel the event. UFC President Dana White blasted his champion’s decision to turn down the fight both personally and through Sonnen himself, who acted as the UFC’s proxy in going on ESPN to trash the light heavyweight champion.
The UFC put all the blame for the event’s cancellation -- Zuffa’s first in 11 years of owning the company -- on Jones’ shoulders. While one can question the wisdom of the decision not to fight Sonnen, who was at a massive stylistic disadvantage and had not trained since losing to Anderson Silva the previous month, it was not Jones’ fault that UFC 151 was a one-fight card that lacked a compelling and marketable co-main event.
Henderson never again regained his previous form, while Jones has continued his run as the greatest light heavyweight of all-time. The cancellation of UFC 151 serves as a warning about the dangers of thin fight cards that the promotion has not yet fully learned, as the UFC 176 debacle demonstrates.
Number 1 » Afflicted