Chael Sonnen explains why UFC’s plan after Jon Jones injury could be ‘problematic’ and ‘weird’

Chael Sonnen believes the rightful champion won’t be determined by the winner of the Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight.

Chael Sonnen, known for his unique perspective, suggests that the UFC may face a dilemma due to Jon Jones’ injury.

Jones, the current heavyweight champion, had to withdraw from his scheduled title defense against Miocic at UFC 295 due to a torn pectoral tendon requiring surgery. The UFC plans to reschedule the fight once Jones recovers.

Meanwhile, the promotion has organized an interim title fight between Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall as the co-headliner for UFC 295 on November 11th at Madison Square Garden in New York. This means the interim champion would have to wait until Jones and Miocic fight before they can book a title-unification bout, and Sonnen finds this decision puzzling.

“Your problem comes tomorrow; your problem doesn’t come today,” Sonnen told MMA Junkie. “You have an event at Madison Square Garden that’s not sold out, headlined by fighters who are facing issues, and now, they’re not even the headliners. Stipe and Jones weren’t exactly a blockbuster fight. Now it’s even less. You have to put the belt up. If you’ve promised the fans a close fight, you have to follow through.”

Sonnen points out the lack of precedent where a healthy and willing interim champion and the returning undisputed champion do not fight each other. He believes the interim belt should make the holder the top contender. He questions what would happen if the interim champion is left watching from the front row as someone else fights for the undisputed belt.

UFC CEO Dana White has stated that Jones is expected to be out for eight months. This could potentially put the fight between Jones and Miocic in jeopardy, as Miocic would be 42 by the time Jones is ready to fight again.

Considering this, Sonnen proposes a more logical scenario.

“You have to have a title on the line. It’s at MSG,” Sonnen said. “You need to find your interim champion and then announce something like, ‘We just spoke to a doctor and it’s worse than we thought. We’re actually going to elevate the interim belt to an undisputed belt, but when Jon comes back, it’ll be his choice. He can either fight Stipe or the interim champion. We’ll see what he wants to do’.”

Sonnen emphasizes the importance of having both the interim champion and the undisputed champion ready and willing to fight each other. He concludes by stating that he’s great at storytelling but can’t envision this particular story coming together.

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.

Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie