Dan Henderson: Giving Chael Sonnen the Jon Jones Fight "Degrades" MMA

Author:: Opposing Views Staff
Updated:: Mar 1, 2018
Original:: Oct 19, 2012

Dan Henderson (29-9) continues to show frustration that Chael Sonnen (27-12-1) is the new No. 1 contender to the light heavyweight championship. It was announced earlier in the week that Sonnen and current champion Jon Jones (17-1) will be opposing coaches on season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter.

A day after the fight was announced, Henderson went to Twitter with a message for Dana White that mentioned Sonnen in. In his tweet, Henderson said he should focus more on talking than training.

Henderson returned to his Twitter account today to clarify his earlier remarks. In it he defends Sonnen's decision for accepting the fight, but sees it as an insult to MMA. His tweet read:

"And just to make it clear, I will always hv love for Chael and don't blame him for saying yes to a big opportunity. But giving him that fight rt now degrades the sport of Mma."

After the cancellation of UFC 151, Henderson remains on the sides with a knee injury. He is rumored to fight Lyoto Machida (18-3) next, but that has not been confirmed. In late September, Jones successfully defended his championship for a fourth time. When Sonnen vs. Jones takes place in April, it will be the challengers debut in a new weight division.