Top 5 undeserving title challengers in UFC history

#3 Chael Sonnen – Light-Heavyweight title vs Jon Jones (2013)

Chael Sonnen talked himself into a title shot at Light-Heavyweight champ Jon Jones in 2013

Chael Sonnen’s verbal tirades against Anderson Silva, beginning in 2010, brought him more notoriety than he’d ever enjoyed in his lengthy career, but they were unable to net him UFC gold. ‘The American Gangster’ came up short in two Middleweight title shots against Silva, and after his second loss to ‘The Spider’ at 2012’s UFC 148, it wasn’t clear where he would go next.

Nobody expected his next fight to be at 205lbs, let alone in a challenge for the UFC Light-Heavyweight title. But that’s exactly what happened, after a series of odd circumstances allowed him to jump the queue. Essentially, the story went a little like this:

Champion Jon Jones was pegged to face top contender Dan Henderson at UFC 151, but when Henderson blew his knee out literally days before the show, the first fighter willing to step up at late notice was Sonnen. But for reasons known only to him and to his coach Greg Jackson, Jones refused the challenge.

Much to the fury of the UFC, the entire show was cancelled, and Jones was hastily put into a title defense against Vitor Belfort later in the month. But after he won, the promotion decided to award Sonnen’s apparent willingness by handing him a shot at Jones in early 2013, with an entire season of The Ultimate Fighter to build the burgeoning rivalry.

Clearly, the UFC were trying to recreate the magic that’d occurred when Sonnen had talked so much trash on Silva to build their fight – but surprisingly, ‘The American Gangster’ was respectful during the TUF tapings – and then ended up losing the title fight by first round TKO, rendering the whole experience largely pointless.