
Chael Sonnen could become the man atop the UFC's light heavyweight division in April when he faces UFC 205-pound champion Jon Jones at UFC 159: Jones Vs. Sonnen. If he is successful, a meeting with Lyoto Machida appears to be on tap.However, during the UFC 157 post-fight show on FUEL TV late Saturday night, Sonnen called out Machida for his style of fighting. "The Dragon" defeated Dan Henderson to cement his status as the No. 1 contender to the belt.
"I'm in on the business. I'm in on the pay-per-view business, and so is Jon Jones," Sonnen said. "Neither of us want to fight Machida because he can't draw flies and that's the bottom line. You got booed (Saturday). You got booed in your last fight. I can't sell out an arena with you. I can't sell pay-per-views with you. I'm not giving you the shot."
Jones previously submitted Machida, but it was one of his lowest PPV main events since claiming the title.
Rashad Evans, who was on the same show as Sonnen, stated his case for why Machida deserves the title shot, saying, "It wasn't the most exciting fight, but at the same time, he got the job done." Those were similar thoughts to that of UFC president Dana White, who has the ultimate call on future title matches.
"I'm in on the business. I'm in on the pay-per-view business, and so is Jon Jones," Sonnen said. "Neither of us want to fight Machida because he can't draw flies and that's the bottom line. You got booed (Saturday). You got booed in your last fight. I can't sell out an arena with you. I can't sell pay-per-views with you. I'm not giving you the shot."
Jones previously submitted Machida, but it was one of his lowest PPV main events since claiming the title.
Rashad Evans, who was on the same show as Sonnen, stated his case for why Machida deserves the title shot, saying, "It wasn't the most exciting fight, but at the same time, he got the job done." Those were similar thoughts to that of UFC president Dana White, who has the ultimate call on future title matches.