Forrest Griffin and Dan Henderson furious over Jones vs. Sonnen
Posted on October 17, 2012, 04:41 PM by Anton Gurevich
UFC veterans Forrest Griffin and Dan Henderson responded to Chael Sonnen's appointment as coach on The Ultimate Fighter, and the future fight with Jon Jones.
Dan Henderson was originally scheduled to fight Jon Jones at UFC 151, the event that never happened, while Forrest Griffin was on a collision course with Chael Sonnen at UFC 155 in December. Both fighters now have to re-align their plans, and they are not too happy about it.
Griffin and Henderson released similar statements, questioning the logic behind fighting in contrast to talking your way into fights.
Here's the one from Hendo via Twitter:
"I guess I should just quit training to win fights and to be exciting for the fans and just go to s--- talking school. @danawhite"
...and from Forrest Griffin at UFC Tonight with Ariel Helwani:
"I'm not mad at him," Griffin said, referencing Sonnen. "Why fight your way to the top when you can talk your way to the top?"
UFC President Dana White announced today on TUF 17 Coaches media conference call that Forrest Griffin will remain on UFC 155 as the co-main event against a yet to be announced opponent. Fans on Twitter suggest that Griffin will be fighting Glover Teixeira, who had an impressive performance at UFC 153 against Dave Herman.
Comments
Y u mad?
love Griffin's cartoon...
Griffin looks like he should have a comic book.
Howcome there's no article about Jake Shields tested positive on PED?
Just wondering.
i thought the substance was still unknown. if it is i bet he just smoked some herb with nick
That is my assumption as well. If so then it is kind of BS. I wish the gov would just legalize it already.
ufc taking a page from wwe
Taking the whole book is more like it.....
They're furious... Hendo made one tweet and Forrest said he's okay with it. Furious
That hardly suggests he's ok with it.
That hardly suggests he's furious.
Calm down Keith.
Exactly lol.
More like, they are not fans of the decision....or "Upset".
Furious? Not that anyone other then anyone close to them would know
While the term "furious" is a bit misleading, Forrest didn't say he's "ok with it" either. He was being facetious.
Im surprised Henderson called out his buddy Chael for not actually fighting to the top.
WTF?! Didn't Jones was supposed to fight the winner of Lyoto "The Dragon" Machita vs Hendo Henderson? well i guess Bones is just trying to evade the Jones/Silva super fight...cuz he knows deep inside that Silva can "Belfortkicking" his hairy chin out of the Octagon.
clearly
There is little doubt in my mind that this is one of the worst things to happen to MMA since Jose Canseco. Vitor fighting Jones was really REALLY bad but at least it was a last minute thing this time it's not just a fight it's an entire season of ****ing TUF and obviously it is ****ing planned. At least Dana doesn't have to pretend to give a shit about MMA as a sport anymore(not that i suggest he ever did) and this is pretty much a farewell present to MMA as he tries to make UFC go mainstream so he can cash out just before it burns.
That is literally what I believe his plan is, evil ****er.
Glover, huh? Ouch. This really sucks for Forrest. He is going from a fight he pretty much couldn't lose to fighting Glover Teixeira. I don't see that one going well for him.
God the UFC is going in the wrong direction. The deal with FOX was just the the start. WWE wrestlers coming over. Under rated fighters getting the title fight in each division after a loss in another. What I believe is fixed fights and fighters injuries and not to mention steroids popping up left and right. Plus shitty judges making terrible decisions in big fights and low ratings in TUF. The UFC needs to pull its head out of its ass. They have a good point..what ever happened to the dragon getting the title fight. Dana is just making shit up as he goes. All these issues need to be better address if the UFC is to continue to grow...also I truly believe Anderson has had some fixed fights and the UFC is behind it. IMO.
If the ufc was fixing fights then an American hero like Forrest Griffin would have been able to defend his belt instead of Brazilians and Canadians taking over (with the one american, Jones being the least liked of all the champions), not a single part of that shows any signs of fixing fights.
hey mr. reporter. please keep your facts straight. glover didnt fight herman in ufc 153. it was maldonado whom he fought. lol
**** chael i want the hendo fight.
Sonnen is Danas new Lesnar. Only difference is Sonnen actually got some skills. Both in smacktalkong and fighting. He's the guy everybody loves to hate. He is The Iron Sheik of the ufc. UFC nutthuggers still think the ufc has the greatest fighters in the world? This incident clearly shows the level of this promotion.
Okay so whos got the best fighters then?
cranestyle As far as Dan goes, he had taken almost a year off, waiting for a shot at the belt. A ruptured MCL is no joke, especially at Dan's age. If Hendo was ready to fight, different story.
But it'll be another 6 months by the time he MIGHT be ready to go. As soon as that knee went, so did his chance for a title shot. The dangers of taking time off, waiting for title shots....
And Forrest, you haven't even smelled the top since Silva destroyed you. Barely beating a washed up Tito Ortiz should have made you realize it's time to hang it up or you'll end up in palookaville
A fight with Sonnen, even though he just moved to 205, was a gift for you. You've earned the UFC's loyalty, but your not even a gatekeeper any more.
Forrest is easily still a gate keeper at this level, just look over the opponents he's lost to since 2007. Rashad Evans, Mauricio Rua, and Anderson Silva. Claiming he isn't a gate keeper while defending Sonnen at LHW (where he hasn't competed in years and wasn't that good there in the first place) is illogical.
While the MCL is an extremely important ligament in the knee it's not an ACL. The MCL's average recovery time is 4 months including Rehab, and Dan has been recovering since August. Dan would have been more than ready to coach against Jones on the Ultimate Fighter and scrap with him in April. So, on the date the fight is set, Dan would have easily been ready.
The UFC thought it was best for business purposes. Anybody can BS the decision with crap arguments about injuries and fighters turning down fights, but this fight is in April. Any number of competitors at the top of the list would have been ready by then.
Some good points...
Forest might have lost to some top guys, but was outclassed by all of them. His wins in that same time period are Rich Frankiln once and Tito twice.
But there is an even simpler gatekeeper test. Does beating Forest get you to another level of competition. Not since 2007.
I agree you have it right about the MCL but your forgetting one thing. His projected return date is end of 2012, start of 2013. That's still almost 3 months away.
Scheduling not only a title fight, but an entire season of a TV show on the PROJECTED return of a 42 year old fighter?
Even if the UFC said yes, what do you think the network would say?
I think beating Forrest most certainly gets you to another level. Especially Chael who wasn't on any level at all before signing the Jones fight.
On Hendo, his projected return to full time training is January or December. 4 and 3 months prior to the April date with Jones. That is plenty of time for a 42 year old (who's been moslty non injured in his career) to come back.
On evidence, beating Forest either means your retiring of fighting Cung Le next, which is close to being retired.
Your missing the point with Hendo. Sure, plenty of time for Dan to come back...if nothing goes wrong.
Fights get cancelled or switched all the time in the UFC, but for a TV show? Four months is like tomorrow. Think how much it hurt TUF when Cruz went down.
Flip side of that evidence is that your going to on to be a Champion, get in a legendary foty candidate, and be the GOAT. So that knife cuts both ways.
I'm not missing your point. I'm simply saying that its just a cop out (a convenient truth, if you will), and Henderson (even at 42) isn't that big of an injury risk. Sure you can spread all this crap out, and call it risky because of his age. However, the man has very little history of being injured, and you can bet your ass he'd get in the cage no matter what for his last shot at a UFC title. Plus, even in the worst case scenario, Dan would still have two months to prepare.
Sure fights get cancelled, but lets not pretend that it was a main reason for Dan-Jones not happening. They just think Chael will sell the fight better, no matter if he is deserving or not.
Dan keeps in great shape, and his age isn't the biggest draw back, it just increases the risk of not recovering.
The big risk is that he's already injured, so until he finishes rehab, he's a much higher risk than someone who is healthy. GSP current injury came when he was recovering from an earlier injury.
I still don't understand how some shit talking steroid user who arguably lost to bisping and than got destroyed by Silva can get an instant 205 title shot.
The answer is in your post. SHIT TALKING!
None of the intelligent fans here can figure it out either, ripstic5021......
Nice drawing! Forrest vs Griffin in December then>? Forrest vs Machida? there's rumors or Forrest facing Bonnar in December,give people a freaking break man,fans already got screwed by the travesty of Chael and Jon as coaches,geezz!!!!
Gee, this is shocking news.....
I'm guessing Machida, Gustaffson, and Rua are next unless they are just biting their tongues.
And you can tell Rashad is pissed even though he won't admit it.
Welcome to the new UFC.... so, your not a contender? Well, if you talk enough SH*T we'll give you a title fight anyway!!!
Forrest and Dan should be pissed this is bullshi Jones is making MMA a joke I pick an choose when and who I fight,its pathetic.Cool pic BTW.