Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen to Coach “The Ultimate Fighter”

Jon Jones will fight Chael Sonnen for the UFC light heavyweight belt.A few days ago, the UFC announced that Chael Sonnen and Jon Jones will be the coaches for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter and will fight in April for the light-heavyweight belt. Now, hardcore fans are in a tizzy. Mainly, they are asking what Sonnen has done to get a title shot. After all, his last fight was a crushing loss to Anderson Silva and he hasn’t even fought at 205 in six years where he was never in the top ten anyway. Even fighters like Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson are raising a stink. Why is Sonnen next in line?  It’s crazy.In one sense, they’re absolutely right. Fighters like Henderson and Machida deserve a shot at the light-heavyweight belt much more than Sonnen does and in any legitimate sport they’d get their rightful chance. But the UFC isn’t a legitimate sport any more than pro-wrestling because both make fights based on the popularity of the fighters and not necessarily what they’ve accomplished in their fights. The WWE matches the champion against the challenger who will cause the most hype and sell the most pay-per-views and so does the UFC. In any real sport, that would come across as absolutely insane. Can you imagine the NFL, NHL or MLB making the Super-Bowl, Stanley Cup or World Series by which team talks the most trash about their opponent?  Or who has the most fans?  Of course not.  Because they are real sports where there are real rankings that have some meaning.  Sure, people might talk about fight rankings but the UFC is totally free to ignore them, which is why when Brock Lesnar came over to the UFC he got a fast-track to a title shot. Now the same thing is happening with Chael Sonnen.  Because a fight between Jones and Sonnen will sell more than a fight with any of the legitimate title contenders. Also, ratings for TUF are at an all-time low and the show needs a shot in the arm to keep it from going under. Clearly, the UFC hopes that putting their best trash talker in as a coach will revitalize things.  I’m not so sure it’s that simple but it certainly is worth a try. As unpleasant as it is to admit, the UFC is making smart business choices and Sonnen is doing the right things to increase his fan base. Some hardcore fans may not like it but the casual fan has no interest whatsoever in seeing an “unknown” like Glover Teixeira or Alexander Gustafsson fight Jon Jones. As for Henderson and Machida, both of them had their chance and messed it up, with Henderson getting injured in training and Machida turning down his title shot in September, letting Vitor Belfort step in to replace him. Now if they want another shot at Jones they better pick up the microphone and start talking some trash because the UFC has gone the way of the WWE where you are only as valuable as the hype you create.