Dan Henderson talks about UFC 151’s cancellation – UFC News
Legendary UFC fighter Dan Henderson had to back out of his against Jon Jones, which was scheduled for UFC 151 on September 1. Henderson suffered a brutal leg injury which forced him to stay away from fighting for a while. Unfortunately, Henderson’s injury
cost a lot to the UFC and other fighters on the undercard, as the company decided to cancel to event since Jon Jones was not willing to fight any other opponent.
“This is the first time in 15 years -- or ever, I guess I should say -- I backed out of a fight,” said Henderson while talking about the entire happening.
“I struggled for a few days but really hard for the last couple days. I tried to get a hold of [UFC president] Dana [White] last Monday. Got a hold of him on Tuesday, and they flew me out to Vegas. That whole two or three days [were] tough to figure out,
and even then after I met with his doctors I was still on the fence with it. I went back and really tried and gave it a tougher workout to see where I was at.”
Most people blamed Henderson for not talking about his problem with the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship earlier, which could have saved the card.
Henderson revealed he was hoping he would be fine by September 1 but just a week earlier, doctors told him to avoid the show.
Dana White, who was shocked to learn about Henderson’s injury, immediately called ‘The American Gangster’ Chael Sonnen to replace Henderson. Sonnen, who was already making his way towards light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, thought it was his opportune
moment and went on agreeing with White.
However, to White and Sonnen’s disappointment, Jon Jones refused to fight Sonnen or any other opponent with just an eight-day notice. Jones made it clear that he will not change his opponent just eight days before the show.
Jones’ decision forced White to cancel the show. It was the first time in White’s eleven-year UFC career that he had to cancel a card, just because of Jon Jones, as White puts it.
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