Looks like Chael Sonnen unparalleled ability to hype a fight has earned him a rarely seen third title shot in the UFC.
Sonnen will coach the third installment of “The Ultimate Fighter” on FX opposite UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. UFC president Dana White confirmed the news with The LA Times on Tuesday.
The latest season of TUF is set to begin filming on Oct. 29 and this addition of the reality fight series will feature middleweights. The two finalists are set to square off in April at the Vegas Hard Rock Hotel where the winner will receive a UFC contract.
Jones will then defend his belt against Sonnen at the April 27 pay-per-view event with a venue to be determined.
"This should be a good one," White said of finally pairing up Sonnen and Jones. "Jon has accepted the fight. He knows the fans want to see that fight."
The two-time middleweight title challenger, Sonnen, was briefly linked to a fight with Jones last month after Dan Henderson had to pull out of a bout with “Bones” scheduled to headline UFC 151 just eight days prior to the event.
However, after speaking with his head coach Greg Jackson, Jones declined to fight Sonnen last-minute and the event was ultimately cancelled.
Ever since then, Sonnen has aggressively called out Jones in the media and on his Twitter page, calling the champ a coward for refusing to fight him.
Jones instead ended up defending his title against Vitor Belfort at UFC 152, which the 23-year-old won by submission in the fourth round. Early in the bout, “The Phenom” locked in a tight armbar on the champion, and while Jones escaped, the submission hold injured Jones to the point where an April fight date was necessary.
The new pairing cancels an upcoming bout between Sonnen and the original “Ultimate Fighter” winner, Forrest Griffin, which was set to take place at UFC 155 on Dec. 29. LA Times reporter Lance Pugmire reported the news on Twitter.
No new opponent has been announced for Griffin, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, at the moment.
The new scenario means Sonnen will endure a rare 10-month layoff from the cage, getting defeated by UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva for a second time at UFC 148. Sonnen is 2-2 in his last four bouts, defeating contenders Michael Bisping and Brian Stann after being submitted by Silva in their first meeting at UFC 117.
Meanwhile, Jones has successfully defended his title four times since winning the belt from Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128. He has defeated former champions in the form of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans and Belfort, with only Evans going the distance against the champ.
Does Sonnen’s ability to talk his way into title fights set a bad precedent for the UFC or are the higher-ups of the UFC simply giving the fans what they want?