ESPN Mixed Martial Arts

Assuming the story is true, the most heinous villain in MMA history may have been born via innocuous text message during the summer of 2009.

That’s when a previously unremarkable middleweight named Chael Sonnen contacted Joe Silva, offering to move up in weight to fight on short notice at UFC 102. Brandon Vera’s opponent had just dropped out of a scheduled light heavyweight bout in Sonnen’s hometown of Portland, Ore., and Sonnen was cooling his heels after a win over Dan Miller three months earlier. To him, the timing must have felt serendipitous.

No harm in asking, right?

Silva replied in three words: Who is this?

It seemed the UFC matchmaker had lost his number.

Perhaps it’s a stretch to blame the full extent of what came later on a single text, but it’s clear that around this same time Sonnen vowed that nobody in the fight game would ever again forget his name. The ensuing three-and-a-half years saw him craft one of the most improbable second acts the sport has ever seen, marching to three separate title shots while simultaneously launching a campaign of verbal scorched earth against whomever crossed his path.

He became, in his own words from last week’s UFC 159 weigh-in, the bad guy. The act (by turns hilarious and infuriating, cavalier and pitiful, innovative and rote) pushed him to heights far beyond what was expected from the unheralded, middle-of-the-pack fighter he’d been for much of his career.

And now it’s over. For all intents and purposes, Sonnen’s run among MMA’s elite reached its inevitable conclusion Saturday, when Jon Jones pounded him out inside the first round of their absurd light heavyweight title bout.

Its usefulness had likely ended weeks or months earlier, as Sonnen appeared to coast into this fight on promotional fumes. He did what he could to spread the hype, running his usual patter and deploying his best prepared material whenever anyone put a microphone in his face, but you could kind of tell his heart wasn’t in it. Or maybe hard-core fans just weren’t buying his shtick anymore; not against Jones, and not after watching him fumble two previous championship opportunities at middleweight.

This time the bad guy got outwrestled and out-struck and, maybe above all else, outfoxed when Jones thoroughly beat him at his own game. Somehow, he still almost won, though the fight only really got interesting after it was over. When referee Keith Peterson jumped in to call a stop to things just 27 seconds before the end of the opening stanza, he did it to save Sonnen from further punishment, but soon it became clear what he’d really saved was Jones’ title reign.

The champ’s toe was obviously broken and leaking blood and had Sonnen been able to survive until the end of the round there was a good chance some ringside doctor would’ve made him the champion. Unfortunately, it was not to be, and now Sonnen finds himself at loose ends for what must feel like the umpteenth time in his circuitous 16-year career. He was hesitant to discuss his future in the immediate aftermath, but the few words he shared with us inside the cage following the fight sounded eerily like a retirement speech.

“I'm not going to be one of the guys to hang around,” Sonnen said. “If there’s not a road to the title, then this sport isn’t for me. I believe that was probably my last opportunity.”

The high-minded thing to do, of course, would be to call it a career and transition to the next phase of life as a color commentator and television personality. Sonnen could certainly still be a viable member of the active roster, but he’s right to think he’s done as a championship contender and if we’re ever going to believe anything he says, it should be that he would never be happy going back to mediocrity.

No, far better for him to go out on top, or at least as close to the top as he was able to claw and scratch on the power of his wits and his wrestling, and maybe with some help from modern medicine. The trip back down would be too sad an end for Sonnen, as it would effectively signal a return to the forgettable first act of his career, when he was plagued by inconsistency and poor submission defense and appeared doomed to finish up as one of the biggest fighters on the smallest shows.

In the end, he turned that perception on its head, winning 10 of 12 fights from 2006-10 and using his unparalleled gift of gab to transform himself into one of the UFC’s most unique pay-per-view draws. At times it was fun, at others it was pure drudgery, but it was interesting more often than not.

Consciously remaking himself as arguably the most despised figure his sport has ever produced proved to be a terrific marketing strategy for Sonnen, but it was never one with a tremendous shelf life. An integral part of his antics was that he was performing them at the highest level. Somehow it just wouldn’t be the same leading up to fights against the Wanderlei Silvas, Rich Franklins or Cung Les of the world.

From here out the paydays would only be smaller and the spotlight dimmer. Most future matchups would be anticlimactic for a guy whose entire strategy was to tell an epic story.

Sonnen’s place in MMA history is as secure as it is likely to get. In other words, his work here is done.

We’ll never forget his name now, and that means the bad guy has already won.

Heading into UFC 159, figuring out ways that Chael Sonnen could compete with Jon Jones required an active imagination. The leading idea on how to get it done was for Sonnen to put his chin down, stick the crown of his head into Jones’ chest and drive him through the cage floor. Once there, things would become adventurous for all parties.

It didn’t get there.

In fact, Jones turned the tables on Sonnen and shot in for a takedown of his own just a few seconds into the fight. It was Sonnen staring up at the lights, fending off oncoming elbows. He was able to get up, but Jones, out of a sense of pride and civic duty, became the kind of insistent wrestler who only Sonnen could appreciate. With half a minute to go in the first round, Sonnen’s face battered and wits scattered, Jones was pried off of the "West Linn Gangsta" in what was ultimately the most predictable stoppage in the history of ground and pound.

But in a bizarre night where Ovince St. Preux won an abrupt technical decision with an eye poke of Gian Villante, Michael Bisping won a technical decision for an eye poke of the one man whose phobia is eye pokes, Alan Belcher, and Yancy Medeiros’ thumb was rearranged into something from Picasso’s brush, it was par for the course that Jones broke his toe somewhere along the way. By the end of the night, appendages at odd angles were all but the norm.

Now we can focus on “what does it all mean,” which is one of MMA’s favorite pastimes. Let’s try to sort it out.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

How does Sonnen compete?
Turns out our hunches were right -- he doesn’t, not when fighting a stylistic nightmare who has the wingspan of a Cessna and a chip on his shoulder.

Last time we see Jones at 205?
Because he only tied Tito Ortiz’s record of five title defenses, here’s guessing no. Lyoto Machida has been promised a rematch, and Alexander Gustafsson still has a modicum of appeal on his way up. And if Jones fights Daniel Cormier, the likeliest scenario is it happens at light heavyweight.

Can Phil Davis break through?
Davis showed improved stand-up ability from that awkward version of himself a couple of years ago. But this was a one-sided beatdown of Vinny Magalhaes, a static fighter whose own stand-up won’t swell the orchestra. Davis might be ready for a step up in competition, but he still seems light years away from challenging Jon Jones.

Is Cheick Kongo showing his 37 years?
Kongo is a dapper gentle giant outside the cage, and in his fight with Roy Nelson, he became one inside the cage, too. We didn’t see any urgency or head-hunting or even any of that rare joie de vivre. What we did see was Roy Nelson go into his windup, as if from the pitcher’s mound, and deliver a heater of an overhand right that dropped Kongo like a curtain sliding off the rod. In other words, yes, Kongo’s days appear numbered.

NEW QUESTIONS

Does Sonnen retire?
Through the last three-year odyssey in which Sonnen has captivated the world of MMA and fought for the belt three times, he made it plain that winning a championship was his singular motivation. Does he want to stick around in a grudge-match capacity to fight the Vitor Belforts and Wanderlei Silvas of the world? (Answer: Hope so. Too many delicious vendettas lingering out there for Sonnen to just walk away.)

Is Pat Healy a top-10 lightweight?
If you subscribe to the theory that divisions are essentially a Netflix queue, where you can drag a title up from the bottom and replace something already in line near the top, then yes (and I know that speaks to more than half a dozen of you). Beating Jim Miller in Miller’s native New Jersey was enough of a feat, but Healy’s pressure game is starting to look scary. At nearly 30 years old, and with 46 professional fights, Healy is just now really coming into his own.

Is Nelson a heavyweight contender?
His right hand says "yes." His surprising agility to climb the fence and do the two-handed Buddha belly rub after victories says "yes." His popularity among fans and mullet connoisseurs says "yes." And realistically, yes. Now everybody is imagining Nelson against Mark Hunt, and Nelson against Daniel Cormier, and Nelson against Alistair Overeem, and that’s a good thing.

What’s next for Michael Bisping?
In hockey patois, Bisping was clutching his stick a little tight early against Belcher, but he began to get into a groove with his striking early in the second round. It was a victory that staves off ugly circumstances and gets him rolling toward something again. Bisping has mentioned fighting in October in Manchester, and here’s thinking Cung Le would be a big draw.

THE FUTURE

For Sara McMann -- Right now it’s wide open, with the Armageddon she brought on Sheila Gaff. We know about the Olympic wrestling, but there’s something about the delight she took in the elbows she was dropping from the crucifix position that has you wondering about how she’d fare against Ronda Rousey (and that’s where McMann’s headed -- but she’ll have to stay busy with another fight or two).

For Jim Miller -- Technically, getting put to sleep isn’t a submission so much as a loss of consciousness, but losing a second time in New Jersey (the first to Nate Diaz) hurts Miller. Though he’s flirted with the idea of moving up to 170 pounds in the past, he might consider a move down to 145. Pastures are always greener in other divisions after losses like the one to Healy.

For Jon Jones -- He needs to get that toe better, but when that’s all said and done, he can officially break Tito Ortiz’s record of five light heavyweight title defenses. The dust has to settle, but the forerunners to become his next victim appear to be down to Alexander Gustafsson or Lyoto Machida (particularly if they fight each other while Jones heals to form a super-definitive, no-questions-asked No. 1 contender).

For Chael Sonnen -- The television booth, at first. But eventually Wanderlei. And Belfort. And the whole block of peeved Brazilians who are smashing their fists in their hands waiting by their phones for Joe Silva to call.

For Roy Nelson -- Daniel Cormier and great balls of fire!

Matches to make

Jon Jones versus Alexander Gustafsson -- If you're an all-or-nothing fan, Jones should heal up and wait on Anderson Silva. But more realistically, dial up the Swede.

Chael Sonnen versus Wanderlei Silva -- Sonnen's already dropping the subliminal tracks toward this fight.

Michael Bisping versus Cung Le -- The two greatest verbs in MMA are "Cung Le."

Alan Belcher versus Hector Lombard -- If 170 is too condensed for the Cuban, a run-in with Belcher at 185 might be fun.

Roy Nelson versus Daniel Cormier -- Twitter wants it. Twitter is all that matters in matchmaking.

STOCK UP/STOCK DOWN

Up
Bryan Caraway -- Only seven weeks removed from his split decision loss to Takeya Mizugaki, Caraway took out Johnny Bedford on a week’s notice with poise and strength.

Phil Davis -- He made it through the rebound portion of his career (the Wagner Prado series and now Vinny Magalhaes), and it’s right back into the kitchen fire of light heavyweight elites.

Cody McKenzie -- Hey, kudos to McKenzie for not engaging Leonard Garcia in a “Leonard Garcia” fight. His restraint was admirable.

Steven Siler -- This would have been fight of the night had Healy/Miller not turned things into Grappler’s Quest Gone Wild. Siler was too much for Kurt Holobaugh, and he weathered a big second-round storm to get the job done.

Down
Leonard Garcia -- Five losses in a row, the latest coming against a fighter who was tailor-made for getting off the schneid? Not good.

Vinny Magalhaes -- Here’s yet another lesson of “be careful what you wish for.” It was Magalhaes who called out Davis, but he had nothing for him.

Alan Belcher -- The eye poke was scary, particularly after having surgery on that same eye not all that long ago. But when you’re likely down 2-0 on the scorecards and you come out in the third with smiles instead of flurries? Not the way his corner drew it up.

The reality show is wrapped. The spring break title defense against Chael Sonnen is in the books.

It's time, is it not, for Jon Jones to get back to business?

The 25-year-old UFC light heavyweight champion spun his wheels over the last seven months, and all he had to show for it was a busted up arm and horribly mangled toe. If "Bones" is going to pay a price for stepping in the cage, let it come against a legitimate threat (perceptually, at least) to his title.

Recognizing that fights with Vitor Belfort and Sonnen weren't intended, that they were the product of the craziness of the fight promotion business, and that Jones was simply doing what was required of him as champion by taking on these contests, opponents exist who appear capable of forcing the immeasurable talents of such a dynamic fighter to the surface.

Alexander Gustafsson, the confident Swede, seems to rank at the top of Jones' list.

Anderson Silva, of course, leads everyone else's.

The last thing Jones has done is clean out his division, though many believe he will, and it's hard to argue otherwise. But there are others: a rematch with Lyoto Machida; the ageless wonder Dan Henderson; a surging Glover Teixeira; an improving Phil Davis.

Then there's Daniel Cormier, the heavyweight. Maybe Jones meets him there. Maybe Cormier cuts to 205. But this is a bout that seems destined to happen, and can you say with certainty that Jones will walk away with a win? I can't, which at this point is all I'm looking for.

There's no time to waste with frivolous, meaningless contests like Saturday's, which featured Jones pelting a guy that didn't stand a chance. Think of the hysteria that would have ensued had referee Keith Peterson allowed Jones to wail on Sonnen for 30 more seconds; had he deferred to Sonnen's considerable experience, recognized a title fight was ongoing, and given the man a chance to get out of the first.

Just imagine Jones in his corner, his left big toe pointing east while the rest of his piggies looked north, a New Jersey ringside physician seeing this, doing what was required and calling the fight. Sonnen, hands raised, belt around his waist. Bye-bye, consecutive title defense record-tying result. For what? A fluke. Against a guy that didn't belong anywhere near Jones' belt. There's too much that can go wrong in an MMA bout for the UFC to waste Jones on a scenario like that.

No more, thank you.

Thankfully, Jones seems to get it. Look at what he did in 2011, running a gauntlet against Ryan Bader, Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson and Machida. Look at how much he improved over that span. He did this while he wasn't nearly the fighter he is today, which isn't remotely close to the predator he'll be in 12 months time. He needs more of that. More challenges. More pressure. More threats. This is the only way Jones will know how good he can be, and this is the only way we'll get to see him at his best.

Jones comes across like a redemptive fellow. He should wish to save himself and his fans from having to pay to watch contests like Belfort and Sonnen.

Give us Gustafasson. Give us Silva. Give us a stud heavyweight. Give us someone whose justification for getting a shot isn't their speaking ability. Give us Jones against a man who might beat him on paper.

That's a start. The rest will take care of itself.

The truth is Jones could turn out to be so good it wouldn't matter if Sonnen or Silva were standing opposite him in the Octagon. And that's why it's high time Bones gets back to business, because there's business to be done.

We're watching, and we're not interested in waiting.

NEWARK, N.J. -- In a night of strange happenings, perhaps the strangest was saved for last.

As most thought he would, Jon Jones (18-1) defended his light heavyweight title against Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 at Newark's Prudential Center, yet he did it in a prideful way -- by outwrestling the wrestler. Coming into the fight, the one bit of intrigue for the heavy favorite Jones was how he would respond to Sonnen’s constant pressure.

Instead, the 25-year old Jones took Sonnen down in the first 10 seconds of the fight, and repeated the process a couple more times before finishing him via TKO with 27 seconds left.

It was a dominant performance by the champion, who tied Tito Ortiz’s record for most 205-pound title defenses at five.

Then the revelation: In his post-fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan, Jones made a gruesome discovery -- his toe appeared broken.

Jones’ left foot was shown on the arean's Jumbotron and it dawned on him and the crowd at the same time that he had a mangled toe. It seemed that Jones broke the toe while pushing off the mat on a takedown attempt.

“I felt it pop,” he told ESPN.com afterward. “But I didn’t let it slow me down.”

Just how long he’ll be out, and what this means for the 205-pound division, remains to be seen. Coming into the fight, UFC president Dana White had mentioned that heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier might be a possibility for an automatic title shot in the lower weight class. And then there was Lyoto Machida, who was in attendance on Saturday night. Machida has also been pinky sworn by White to get a rematch against Jones. But with the injury, everything goes back up in the air.

And as far as Jones is concerned, Cormier isn’t on his mind yet.

“I don’t want to give Daniel Cormier any hype right now,” he said during a postfight interview with MMA Live. “That guy ... I won’t even make a comment.”

As for Sonnen, who coached opposite Jones on "The Ultimate Fighter" and took a lot of flak for not having the credentials to get the shot to begin with, he was gracious in defeat.

“He’s an excellent fighter, I have no problem with the stoppage,” he said. “[Jones] is very powerful. When he went for the kill, he never stopped. I thought I was all right, but he is the better fighter.”

Sonnen intimated that he may contemplate retiring now that it appeared that he had his last shot at winning a title. But he wasn’t definitive on that. Coming in, the thought was that Sonnen’s only chance against Jones was to use his wrestling to put Jones on his back, like he did with middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 117.

Instead, Jones turned the tables out of defiance.

“[Coach] Greg Jackson, he always teaches me to have a philosophy of ‘screw them,’” Jones said. “If people want to say you can’t do something, you say, ‘screw them.’ That’s the way I looked at the critics. Screw you guys.

“My wrestling coach told me that that they’re going to be watching, they want to see who’s the better wrestler, and everyone thinks that you can’t wrestle. I said, screw them. Let me show you guys I can wrestle. I take wrestling very seriously.”

On a night where two bouts ended in technical decisions for accidental eye-pokes, and another ended when Yancy Medeiros dislocated his thumb against Rustam Khabilov, Jones’ injury felt par for the course. It was yet another “what if” for Sonnen. Though the Jones fight was the polar opposite of Sonnen’s first fight with Anderson Silva, he once again came close to becoming the champion.

Had Sonnen survived the first round, it’s possible that Jones wouldn’t have been able to continue with the injury to his foot. In that case, Sonnen would have backed his way into a title. That would have been different from the Silva fight -- which he dominated for 4½ rounds before getting caught in a triangle/armbar with under two minutes left -- even if the nearness to the gold was the same.

For as close as that might have seemed, it was a million miles away. Jones was his usual dominant self, and he showed he can beat opponents at their own game. UFC 159’s main event was never in doubt. The only thing that is in doubt becomes what exactly happens next.

“We’ll see what happens with Jones’ [injury], and we’ll go from there,” Dana White said. But, before letting it go at that, he also dropped a bomb in the post-fight news conference. He said that Anderson Silva called -- and was asking for a fight. Was he calling out Jon Jones?

White left it for everyone to speculate, but added that it doesn't really matter right now, with Silva slated to fight Chris Weidman at UFC 162.

How’s that for timing?

It has been a bit more than eight months since the cancellation of UFC 151, which at the breakneck pace of the MMA news cycle makes it feel as though it happened sometime during the Bronze Age.

Heads have cooled considerably since that bizarre and uncomfortable day last August, which Dana White branded as one of his all-time lows as UFC president. He pulled the plug on UFC 151 just eight days before Jon Jones was scheduled to defend his light heavyweight title against consensus No. 1 contender Dan Henderson. It marked the first time the promotion had scratched an entire event and White seemed to drown his sorrows by blasting Jones, saying he was “disgusted” with his champion for passing up the opportunity to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice once he’d learned Henderson was injured and couldn’t compete.

“The one thing that I never thought in a million years would happen, happened ... ” said White, during one of the tamer moments of a volatile conference call. “A guy who’s a world champion and considered one of the pound-for-pound best turns down a fight.”

These days, Jones and White appear back on friendlier terms; but the unexpected removal of UFC 151 from the schedule set off a chain reaction from which the 205-pound division still hasn’t fully recovered. For evidence we must look no further than this Saturday, when Jones and Sonnen will finally fight in the gratuitous and likely very lopsided main attraction of UFC 159.

Remember that prior to Henderson’s last-minute withdrawal, Jones had cultivated the single greatest 13-month run in MMA history. He’d easily taken the title from Mauricio Rua at UFC 128 and then stomped through consecutive bouts against three other former champions, all without suffering so much as a scratch. His fight with Hendo was set to continue that march, because the 42-year-old legend had become a darling of the pound-for-pound crowd by winning the Strikeforce title, beating Fedor Emelianenko at heavyweight and defeating Rua in the best fight of 2011.

If the sudden collapse of UFC 151 didn’t completely put the brakes on all that momentum, it certainly sidetracked it. After fighting four times during 2011 (all wins), Jones made only two appearances in the Octagon during 2012 and by his own lofty standards the second half of the year was fairly underwhelming. With Henderson out, Jones faced off with Vitor Belfort, another former light heavyweight champion (though only on the flukiest possible terms), who’d more recently become a middleweight and whose reputation hadn’t recovered from a dramatic front kick knockout at the hands of Anderson Silva at UFC 126.

It was a fight that, frankly, nobody wanted to see and smacked of one the UFC booked only because Jones was healthy and the company wanted to put his name on a marquee somewhere. It would have been a total loss had Belfort not almost pulled off a stunning upset via armbar early in the first, before conceding by painstaking and inevitable submission three rounds later.

Now here’s where things get extra confusing: In the aftermath of the Belfort fight many expected the UFC to once again match Jones with Henderson. Instead, it opted to go with Sonnen, who had not fought at light heavyweight since 2005 and whose record at middleweight was just 2-2 during the past three years.

Sonnen is arguably a less logical opponent for Jones than even Belfort, and the fact he’s getting this bout now only makes sense (and then only vaguely) when viewed through the lens of UFC 151. Simply put, Jones deserves better, but he likely felt he had no choice but to accept this matchup in order to retroactively prove he wasn’t ducking Sonnen by refusing to fight him in September.

Unfortunately, the hot feud the UFC may have expected from Jones and Sonnen never materialized and promotional efforts have floundered among hard-core fans who are weary of seeing the best light heavyweight on the planet thrust into nonsensical bouts against middleweights. At least middleweights not named Silva. They are likewise tired of seeing Sonnen trash talk his way into fights they don’t think he deserves and there is a palpable sense of simply wanting to get UFC 159 over with, so Jones can get back to real business.

During the months we’ve all watched Jones and Sonnen perform the sad dance of the uninspired, the decision to mothball UFC 151 also came back to bite Henderson. After twice missing out on the chance to fight for the title he lapsed back into mortality, dropping a tepid split decision to Lyoto Machida at UFC 157. He’ll now take on Rashad Evans at UFC 161 in what is essentially a must-win fight for the future of his career.

If Henderson and Jones never fight, we’ll probably always rue the day UFC 151 was canceled and mourn the time wasted having the young champion fight lesser competition. Perhaps the best-case scenario from here might be for both guys to emerge victorious from their current scheduled bouts.

If that happens, perhaps their original pairing can still be resuscitated and then -- maybe only then -- we can finally let UFC 151 rest in peace.

That Chael Sonnen guy: He isn’t one of the best light heavyweights in UFC. But Sonnen has the gift of gab. He’s second to none in that category. His uncanny ability to come up with catchy phrases, primarily derogatory comments targeted at champions, captures the attention of the most casual fight fan.

Like it or not, when Sonnen speaks, everyone listens. And it has earned him some very lucrative paydays the past few years. It was during the months leading to his showdowns with middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva that Sonnen added a new wrinkle to his chatter. He took prefight trash talk to new heights, or depths, depending on your perspective. Sonnen questioned Silva’s intelligence, hinted at touching his wife in an inappropriate manner and said unflattering things about the champ’s native country of Brazil.

His statements could be classified as deplorable, but they served two purposes -- increasing interest in the fights and getting into Silva’s head. Sonnen is very skilled at getting in an opponent’s head before fight night.

He has employed this tactic again for his light heavyweight title bout Saturday night (pay-per-view) in Newark, N.J., against champion Jon Jones. But Sonnen has slightly altered his strategy.

There’s still a hint of nastiness -- he raised an issue about Jones’ mental capacity. That approach, however, has grown old and Jones is clearly too intelligent to be fazed by it.

So during a recent media call to promote the fight, Sonnen unveiled Plan B: soften Jones up with kindness. Rather than attempt to get under Jones’ skin with derogatory statements, Sonnen turned to praise as a way to distract the champion.

“I always find it, you know, as great as Jon is, I don’t think that he understands how good he is,” Sonnen said. “You know for him to pay tribute to Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali earlier was a very nice thing for him to do. The reality is Jon Jones could beat up Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali in the same day.

“And when he says he wants to be the best ever, Jon, news flash, buddy, you are the best.”

Talk about taking prefight mind games to extremes.

Is Jones the best mixed martial artist today? Yes, though Silva supporters would surely chime in on this discussion.

The comparison to Tyson is fine. But Sonnen went too far by mentioning Jones and Ali in the same sentence. That’s total madness.

Ali was far more than a great boxer, he transcended his sport. Like Sonnen, he talked a lot of trash before fights -- often belittling his opponent -- which served to increase interest in the bout. More often than not, Ali backed up his prefight boasting. But what separated, and continues to separate, Ali from most other great athletes was his unwavering willingness to confront the social injustices of his day.

Ali’s positions weren’t always met with full approval from the masses, but the man was admired, especially in the African-American community, for staying true to his convictions in the face of overwhelming verbal attacks.

Jones has a long way to go and many more hurdles to overcome in his professional fighting career before comparisons to Ali can be taken seriously. Until then it is unfair, even insulting, to Jones to make such a comparison.

Fortunately, Jones refused to be sucked in to Sonnen’s trap. He remains focused on the issue at hand -- retaining his title Saturday night at UFC 159.

“I can’t afford to worry or feel any type of feelings of him being kind or anything,” Jones said. “The thought of someone taking my name away from me and that nickname is Champ, I take that very personal. I take that with a grain of salt.

“And that’s the way I need to keep my attitude. I need to keep my focus. Someone’s trying to take away my dream, you know, the thought of going home without my belt, it keeps me angry. So I don’t care if someone says something nice about me.”

Jones will defeat Sonnen at UFC 159, within three rounds, continuing his journey toward MMA immortality. And maybe one day a young champion will be compared to him, prematurely. That too, of course, will be unfair.

All the UFC 159 promos can't do away with the most basic question: How did we get here?

The first time Chael Sonnen fought Anderson Silva, the original novelty was his utter disregard for Silva's legacy. To that point people had only been reverent of the middleweight champion -- even if Dana White was still fuming that Abu Dhabi had been turned into a stage for bad performance art by him and Demian Maia.

Along came the stock contender Sonnen, a journeyman who was proud of his singlet, the flag and his real estate license. He'd just taken the pestle to top contenders Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt, so he had the credentials. And what a platform it was. Within days of that last victory, he became the game's most infatuating wisenheimer. It was hard to gauge his sincerity, though; did he truly believe he would walk through Silva, the mythological Brazilian who, in Sonnen's active imagination, could speak the King's English?

Turns out he did. And turns out he backed it up for nine-tenths of a five-round fight in Oakland. The other one-tenth, as you now know, is the marker that defines his career.

After the loss, the asterisks piled up as the rematch lolled on the horizon. By the time he made his way back from his suspension for elevated testosterone levels, and made it through mobile obstacles (Brian Stann and Michael Bisping), we were talking about Sonnen-Silva II as the biggest fight in MMA history. It was Ali-Frazier there for a minute. It was Silva's first real rival. It was all kinds of bandstands, bunting and pageantry.

Yet Sonnen lost the rematch, too, this time less spectacularly. He lost his footing throwing a spinning backfist.

But losing your footing is nothing when you've mastered the art of falling forward. Sonnen now faces Jon Jones for the light heavyweight belt on Saturday night. For six months we've debated the matchmaking, with pro wrestling fans calling the protectors of pecking orders anything from "naïve" to "idiots." Either way, the moment has arrived to see what's what.

And unlike in either of the Silva bouts, this time Sonnen feels like a formality between Jones and bright new ventures, things like "heavyweight" and "superfights." Jones just wants to break Tito Ortiz's record for most title defenses at light heavyweight. That number is five; Jones' magic number to tie him is one.

Sonnen is the one.

And so here we are. Sonnen gets the "third time's the charm" treatment for UFC gold. Jones gets a chance to make Sonnen a footnote in history.

FIVE STORYLINES

Bisping in vulnerable spot

In his five-year quest to fight Anderson Silva, Bisping has gotten close three times. Yet in three eliminators, he's ended up being the one eliminated three times. Should he lose to Alan Belcher to make it three losses in four fights, his middleweight title shot may go away for good. It's not a must-win for Bisping in the roster sense, but it is in the gold-plated accessory sense.

Resurgence of Roy Nelson

As one of the more popular heavyweights, Roy Nelson's mullet beefs with Dana White won't keep him from contention. A win over thunder-fisted Frenchman Cheick Kongo would make it three in a row. If he knocks out Kongo in the first round? That would be three emphatic wins in a row. At that point the jokes about Nelson's belt size will be off the hook.

Jones and history

Everything Jones does in this young sport seems to stack neatly into something historic. Now he can pad his legacy by tying Ortiz's record for 205-pound title defenses against Sonnen. He makes it all seem so perfunctory that you forget the guy is only 25 years old.

Careful what you wish for

That Vinny Magalhaes called out Phil Davis is shrouded in mystery for those of us in the fight trade. Yes he's strong and has mad grappling skills, but isn't "Mr. Wonderful" an uber-athlete whose "wrestle first" attitude is meant to nullify limb hunters? (Reading between the lines: Vinny's sense of susceptibility is stronger than our sense of conventional wisdom).

Eye on Sara McMann

Before Cat Zingano came barging into the women's bantamweight title picture from left field (read: the flatirons of Colorado), the big up-and-coming prospect to watch was Sara McMann. Why not? McMann was a silver medalist in wrestling at the 2004 summer Olympics, and is 6-0 as a pro mixed martial artist. She makes her debut against Germany's Sheila Gaff, and a win keeps the contender cupboard stocked for the winner of Rousey-Zingano.

FIVE QUESTIONS

How does Sonnen compete?

Sonnen is giving up 11 inches in reach. Sure, he can wrestle, but in 16 takedown attempts, Jones has been taken down exactly zero times. There might be an existential crisis awaiting for Sonnen in Newark. How does he compete? Can Sonnen be the maelstrom that overpowers Jones? Or, the "Chaelstrom?" Hey, you know what? The gangster from West Lynn will take off his shoes and give it a go.

Last time we see Jones at 205?

Should Jones defeat Sonnen, the question will become: What now? There aren't a lot of desirable title fights to make at 205 right now (given that a Lyoto Machida redux is the best option, and Daniel Cormier underwhelmed last weekend). Could Jones sit back and watch the Chris Weidman-Anderson Silva bout in July, with designs on a "superfight" to commemorate the UFC's 20th anniversary? Or might he bolt for the heavyweight division?

What becomes of Bisping and Belcher?

Between Belcher (12 UFC fights) and Bisping (13), that's a lot of experience in the Octagon. The winner of this bout will again cycle back towards title contention, but will either ever get over the hump? Career stakes are on the line here.

Can Davis break through?

When Davis was charging up the 205-pound ranks, he looked so raw that we kept imagining him with a couple of more years of experience. But after he got worked by Rashad Evans, our minds were no longer as blown. Of course, he spent the last year in the forgettable Wagner Prado series, but here we are a couple of years removed from those halcyon days of catching Tim Boetsch in a "Philmura." Will the Davis we see Saturday night be the one we projected we'd see a couple of years ago at this point?

Is Kongo showing his 37 years?

The answer is, no, not really. Kongo keeps chipping away, and aside from getting knocked out by Mark Hunt he hasn't lost a fight since 2009 (though it still feels like Pat Barry knocked him out before that Hail Mary heave in Pittsburgh). How good would a knockout of Nelson look? Probably enough to get him into the cage with a guy like Alistair Overeem.

WHO'S ON THE HOT SEAT

Steven Siler – Losing to Darren Elkins is one thing, but following that up with a loss to UFC newcomer Kurt Holobaugh is another. It's the way things are during a roster trim -- all deep prelimists have to get used to life on the bubble.

Nick Catone – Tough draw for Catone against James Head in a must-win fight. Yes he's back on his native Jersey soil, but his last big win was against Costa Philippou back in spring 2011. Should he lose his third in a row? Close the drapes.

Cody McKenzie – When he lets his hair down, he looks like he should be shouting "Figaro!" When he lets his hands down, he turns into a punching back (refer to the Chad Mendes fight). A loss against Leonard Garcia would make it four of five, which is short for being "made redundant."

Leonard Garcia – If you were to lift up the cushions to Garcia's couch, you'd find a lot of loose game plans that have fallen through the cracks over the years. We expect him to jettison all that hooey he learned in training when the bell rings, but problem is he keeps getting his bell rung because of it. Dana White loves himself some Garcia, but it's hard to keep around a fun-loving brawler on a five-fight losing streak.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Because "Bones" Jones has out-landed his opponents 330-99 in significant strikes in title fights … because Sonnen is the latest contestant to familiarize himself with the discrepancy … because Bones throws elbows from the pitcher's mound … because Sonnen will move forward until he can't … because Bisping might feel the tattoo of Johnny Cash's face squeezing his trachea ... because it'll be a drinking game challenge to tell Jim Miller and Pat Healy apart…because Magalhaes doesn't see a muscular athlete in Davis, but a dozen miles of workable limbs and neck ... because Garcia's neck is on the line against McKenzie (and in general) ... because Nelson and Kongo have no need for judges' scorecards ... because Jones is "Angry Johnny" capable of animal's grace ... yet he can do it with precision, or he can do it with gourmet taste.

This Saturday, the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., hosts UFC 159. In the main event, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his title for the fifth time against Chael Sonnen, who stood opposite of Jones as coach on Season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” In the co-main event, middleweight contenders will battle when Michael Bisping takes on Alan Belcher.

Here are the numbers you need to know for Saturday’s fights:

4: UFC light heavyweight title defenses for Jones, tied with Chuck Liddell and Frank Shamrock for second most. With a win, Jones would tie Tito Ortiz, who defended the title five times from 2000-2002.

231: Jones has outlanded opponents in significant strikes 330-99 in title fights, a difference of 231. In 12 UFC fights, Jones has never been outstruck (nor has Sonnen in 11 UFC fights).

11: Jones (84.5-inch wingspan) will have an 11-inch reach advantage over Sonnen (73.5-inch wingspan). Sonnen has never faced an opponent with a reach longer than 77.5 (Anderson Silva).

16: Jones has stopped all 16 takedown attempts by his opponents in his UFC career. Sonnen, who is known for his wrestling background, averages four takedown attempts per fight.

38: Sonnen has 38 takedowns in his 11-fight UFC career, including at least one takedown in each of his past seven fights. Sonnen also does a good job advancing his position when getting the fight to the ground. In 11 fights, Sonnen advanced his position on the ground 29 times (2.6 times per fight).

5: Jones has six submission victories in his career, five of which have come by way of choke (four by guillotine, one rear-naked). Eight of Sonnen’s 12 career losses are by submission, five by choke (four by triangle choke, one by guillotine).

8: Years since Sonnen has fought at light heavyweight. Sonnen is making his first UFC appearance at light heavyweight since his UFC debut in October 2005 against Renato Sobral.

13: This is the 13th time that TUF coaches will face off against one another inside the Octagon. On six occasions, the coach with the winning fighter(s) also won the fight against the opposing coach.

5: Bisping has landed 854 significant strikes in his UFC career, five away from taking over second place all time behind Georges St-Pierre (1,153). Bisping averages 47 significant strikes landed per fight.

25: Combined UFC middleweight fights between Bisping (13) and Belcher (12). Both fighters are still looking for their first opportunity at the UFC middleweight title. Chris Leben (20) has had the most fights among active UFC fighters at middleweight without a title shot.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Cover your ears, Johny Hendricks.

UFC president Dana White told reporters on Thursday he’ll talk to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre soon. The two haven’t spoken since St-Pierre recorded his eighth consecutive title defense over Nick Diaz at UFC 158 last month.

Expectations have been that St-Pierre (24-4) would face Hendricks (15-1) later this year, but White said that bout would go on hold should St-Pierre express interest in a long-anticipated, lucrative superfight with middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

“I am literally going to call Georges St-Pierre today and see what he wants to do,” White said.

“If Georges says to me, ‘I want to fight Anderson Silva,’ you think I’m going to go, ‘No, you’re not. You’re fighting Johny Hendricks’?”

Silva (33-4) is scheduled to defend his 185-pound title against Chris Weidman at UFC 162 in July. In yet another superfight wrinkle, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his title against Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 next week in Newark.

White said he’s interested in any fight that involves two of the three champions, saying if both St-Pierre and Jones wanted Silva, “that’s a good problem to have.”

Hendricks would be the clear loser if St-Pierre opts to fight Silva next. The former collegiate wrestler is on a six-fight win streak and was already leapfrogged earlier this year by Diaz, who was coming off a drug suspension.

White said St-Pierre would not vacate the 170-pound title if he took the Silva fight, meaning Hendricks would have to wait or accept another fight.

“If [St-Pierre] lost, he could still go back down and fight Hendricks for the title.”

Mitrione fined, suspended -- but forgiven

UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione has been fined an undisclosed amount and remains suspended for comments made last week regarding transgender fighter Fallon Fox.

The UFC quickly suspended Mitrione following an appearance on “The MMA Hour,” where he referred to Fox as a “freak.” Fox is scheduled for her third pro fight in May.

Mitrione (6-2), who defeated Philip De Fries via first-round knockout earlier this month, spoke with UFC president Dana White following the incident and took responsibility for his actions -- but there is no timetable for his return.

“It’s up to us,” White said regarding Mitrione’s suspension. “I’m not mad at Mitrione. He did something stupid. He knows he didn’t handle it the right way.

“I’m sure he wants to know [when he’ll fight again]. We’ll let him know when we decide. He was fined, too. Enough to make him call me three times.”

• A Brazilian fan attacked UFC light heavyweight Chael Sonnen during an event last weekend in Las Vegas, according to White.

Sonnen, who challenges Jon Jones for the 205-pound title next week at UFC 159, was in Las Vegas to attend "The Ultimate Fighter" finale at Mandalay Bay Events Center. According to White, he was involved in a minor scuffle during the show.

“I don’t know if any of you guys saw this, but he was there shaking hands with fans and one guy says, ‘Chael! Chael!” White said. “Chael goes over there and the guy started swinging at him, trying to punch him. The guy goes, ‘I’m from Brazil!'”

Sonnen (27-12-1) was involved in a heated rivalry with Brazilian middleweight champ Anderson Silva from 2010 to 2012. He went 0-2 in two fights against him.

• Whether his teammate claims the UFC lightweight title on Saturday or not, Nate Diaz says he’s moving back to 170 pounds.

Diaz (16-8) meets lightweight Josh Thomson on Saturday. His teammate, Gilbert Melendez, will look to dethrone champion Ben Henderson in the night’s main event.

Regardless of the outcome of either fight, Diaz says he intends to move back to welterweight, where he compiled a 2-2 record from 2010 to 2011.

“I already fought everybody at lightweight,” Diaz said. “I don’t think there is anything for me in the lightweight division. I already beat everybody or fought everybody. The only person who beat me was Ben. What, I’m going to sit around and fight all the same guys again? That’s boring. There’s no motivation in that.”

• Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier still wants to fight UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones -- just maybe not as soon as he once thought.

Cormier (11-1) faces arguably the biggest challenge of his career on Saturday as he takes on former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir in the night’s co-main event.

The former U.S. Olympic wrestler has been quietly shedding weight for a potential trip to the 205-pound division. Cormier’s teammate, Cain Velasquez, currently holds the UFC heavyweight title.

Cormier has publicly expressed interest in fighting Jones previously, but now says he’d probably want a test fight at 205 pounds first. The 34-year-old experienced kidney failure while cutting weight in 2008 but is confident he can make 205.

“At first, I was so emotionally tied to [fighting Jones],” Cormier said. “I’ve thought about it, and I wouldn’t be opposed to fighting one time down there just to see how my body reacts to the weight cut. It would be very difficult to fight him in my first fight, a five-round fight.

“What if I get in a fight and I can’t do anything but wrestle because my arms are tired and my body isn’t responding to the weight cut? I don’t want that guy to be Jon Jones. Seriously, can you imagine standing in with him and not feeling your best?”

Chael Sonnen launched into one of his great tongue-in-cheek tirades on Tuesday, claiming Dana White called Jon Jones a "jerk" who is killing crowds in the UFC. More »

A funny thing happened while Chris Weidman was in Albany, N.Y., lobbying for the legalization of MMA in his home Empire State -- he landed that long-coveted title fight against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 161 on July 6 in Las Vegas.

Now he can exhale. At least for a few minutes.

“Everybody’s excited for me, and I’m getting blown up like crazy,” the Long Island native told ESPN.com. “But it’s time to get organized and time to get working. I didn’t get this title shot just to be happy with that. I got this title shot to win and win in spectacular fashion, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Good news converged all over Weidman this week. For one, he was told his shoulder, which he’d injured while training in Arizona a few months back in preparation for a fight with Tim Boetsch, was coming along ahead of schedule. Now he’s got the green light to train.

“I just spoke to my doctor on Tuesday, and he just said he was very happy at where my shoulder was at, and that he was surprised at how fast it healed,” he says. “So I’m back into the thick of things, and honestly, my shoulder feels 100 percent right now. It feels great.”

Better yet, Weidman’s path to Silva -- which has had nearly as many obstacles as the UFC’s ongoing efforts to get MMA sanctioned in New York -- finally opened up. And what an ordeal that’s been.

Back in July, after both Silva and Weidman had come off of impressive victories over Chael Sonnen and Mark Munoz, respectively, Silva was reluctant to take the fight at that time. Sensing this, Weidman agreed to fight Boetsch at UFC 155. Silva then took a makeshift fight against Stephan Bonnar to rescue UFC 153, and shortly thereafter Weidman got injured and was scrapped from his card. Meanwhile, as Weidman healed, fresh contenders like Michael Bisping lost.

Which brings everything right back to the undefeated Weidman (9-0, 5-0 in the UFC), who took a scenic detour only to end up essentially back where to he started. The difference is he's coming off a prolonged layoff after surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff -- not to mention fix a separated AC joint in his right shoulder.

It will be a year between fights, but Weidman is finally in the challenger’s seat.

Now it’s a question of whether the layoff and recovery will leave him that much more susceptible heading into a fight with the greatest mixed martial artist ever. Las Vegas oddsmakers are already lengthening his odds. And given the circumstances, a lot of people in the media and on Twitter think that Silva’s catching Weidman at the exact right time. Weidman has heard it.

“Listen, you come off a layoff people are going to think you’re rusty and all that, but I’ve been in the gym every single day,” he says. “I haven’t taken time off. I’ve had more than a year off before, coming off of hand surgery, and my first fight back I fought Urijah Hall. He’s doing good on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ show right now, and I ended up getting a first round knockout over him.

“So I’ve had that scenario before, and I won’t let ring rust or coming off an injury like that stop me. I think that’s more of a mental thing, anyway. I’m pretty good mentally. I have a psychology degree, and I think that helps me just keep my mentally strong -- and making sure I don’t beat myself.

"That’s ultimately who you’re really fighting against, is yourself. I feel like if I don’t beat myself, I’m winning the fight.”

It doesn’t hurt that he was an All-American wrestler at Hofstra while earning his psychology degree, or that Silva’s known vulnerability is in the wrestling department. Weidman knows these things, and he’ll undoubtedly use whatever edges he can (psychological and otherwise) leading up to UFC 161.

But right now, Weidman talks like a man who is thrilled with so many happy convergences. He’s healthy, he’s in a title fight, and MMA in his home state of New York is close to becoming a reality. Not a bad week.

“I feel like this is just the beginning of my career, and it’s a great opportunity to fight who I think is the greatest of all time,” he says. “My main goal right now is to be UFC champion -- but my ultimate goal is to be considered one of the greatest of all time.”

The old cliché “to be the best, you must beat the best” only works if you get the chance to beat the best. This July, there's a very happy New Yorker who's getting his chance.

On July 11, 2012, Chris Weidman defeated top middleweight contender Mark Munoz without so much as absorbing a single significant strike in six and a half minutes of fight time. It was a headlining spot, and he made the most of it. The “Strong Island” native slipped a punch and landed a ridiculous elbow in the second round, and won via TKO seconds later.

And that’s how you make a statement.

That same night, with a perfect 5-0 record in the UFC (9-0 overall), he called out the champion, Anderson Silva, who four days earlier defeated Chael Sonnen with a TKO of his own.

“I want Anderson Silva,” Weidman said, in the most polite callout in the history of callouts. “Every time I’ve had a full training camp, I’ve gotten a finish. Give me a full training camp, and I’d love a shot at the man, Anderson Silva. I really think I could do pretty good. So give me a shot, please.”

Just 239 days later, Silva-Weidman has finally been made. Weidman will get a full training camp, and so will Silva. The clash of styles and experience is on. And after all that time, and through all that haze and speculation, the question becomes: What took so long to make this fight?

It’s complicated. Depending on whom you listen to, it was either because Weidman was too green, too threatening, too unknown, too audacious, or too ... eh. It was because of Weidman’s shoulder injury, and that little Stephan Bonnar thing that Silva handled in October. It was Silva’s contract being up. It was because Silva wanted Georges St-Pierre (unrequited), and then wanted Cung Le (fun fantasy), and then wanted Luke Rockhold (posturing?).

Officially, Silva’s camp said Weidman was too low profile. They wanted big fights, with big-name opponents and equal-sized pay-per-view dollars. Unofficially, Weidman’s camp thought that excuse looked like timidity. Weidman, with his All-American wrestling pedigree from his days at Hofstra University, looked like a nightmare matchup for Silva. In seven rounds of Sonnen-Silva, Sonnen won five by wrestling before making critical errors.

Weidman, at 28 years old, is a fluid submission grappler with better stand-up skills than Sonnen. He’s not likely to try a spinning backfist against Silva. There’s been a lot of optimism at the Ray Longo-Matt Serra Fight Team that a title could soon return to Long Island, if the fight would only be made.

Two-thirds of a year later, the UFC made the right call by booking it. In that time, Weidman’s intrigue has become a lot of fans' intrigue. And given his skill set, he does present interesting challenges to Silva. He beat Munoz, who at the time was a top contender. He beat Demian Maia before that, who’d had a title shot in 2010. Those are fine credentials.

But really, it's all about simple deduction -- there’s nobody else at 185 pounds who deserves it more.

Le was a Silva pipe dream. Hector Lombard hasn’t panned out. Tim Boetsch got done in by Costas Philippou (Weidman's teammate who replaced him on the UFC 155 card after a shoulder injury forced Weidman out of the event). It’s too soon for a Silva-Vitor Belfort rematch. Rockhold was willing, but his merit (and star power) didn’t trump Weidman's. Yushin Okami? No way -- not again. Michael Bisping, who was supposed to get the shot, lost in the penultimate spot against Belfort. St-Pierre didn’t want to mess around with his weight, among other concerns. Jon Jones is booked with Sonnen in April, and he has his own contenders at 205 pounds to deal with after that.

That leaves Weidman, who realistically felt like the guy all along. If a superfight wasn’t going to materialize for Silva, the UFC needed to take the next legitimate contender within the weight class. That was, and remains, Chris Weidman.

He’s healthy, and he’s ready. Silva needs an opponent. Boom. The pecking order wins out. Rev up the hype machine.

It might have taken a long time for everyone to get on the same page, but the bottom line is everybody finally did. Come July 6 in Las Vegas, almost a year to the day since Silva’s record 10th title defense at UFC 148, it’s on.

The whole thing feels so old-fashioned. Weidman gets his wish. And it’s for all of us to see what he’s able to do with it.

In 2013, the year of the “superfight” and new-fashioned division jumping in the UFC, anything is possible.

How possible? A simple, timely text can shake up an entire division for the better part of a year. Ask Ricardo Lamas, who should have been the next featherweight for Jose Aldo if Anthony Pettis, ten pounds and 1,000 decibels his superior, wasn’t the quickest Blackberry draw in the Midwest.

When Dana White got the buzz that night, it played out like this: Merit, shmerit. This game deals in duckets.

Imagine that: Diaz-Ellenberger is the potential title fight nobody is talking about.

Now Pettis-Aldo is slated to take place in far-off August. Jon Jones versus Anderson Silva has been speculated about for New York (or Brazil [or Dallas]) in November (or December), even though Silva is fighting Chris Weidman in July, and Jones has a fight with Chael Sonnen in April. Apparently Sonnen can be looked right past to the “superfight” everybody wants. In fact, Jones/Silva is the only true superfight right now that is super enough to make rational people superstitious. Nobody wants to jinx it, except a couple of pesky wrestlers who stand in their way.

Then there’s UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, who is talking about bouncing up to welterweight to face Georges St-Pierre, even though he has a fight with reigning Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez this spring, and GSP fights Nick Diaz next weekend.

That idea has since been shot down by White but, what, is Melendez a hologram? It used to be that media and fans were always thinking two steps ahead. Now the fighters are, too? This is fantastic. (I have to admit -- it’s fun to align in such foolish behavior!).

At least the scenarios get simpler from here, so let's look ahead. On March 16, at UFC 158, the welterweights will come into focus. It’s really black and white. The three top fights on the card are 170-pounders. St-Pierre, who we are assured has a dark chamber in his psyche that nobody (especially that inconsiderate Nick Diaz!) can possibly fathom, headlines the event.

All revolves around him beating Diaz. If he defeats Diaz he could fight anyone from Johny Hendricks to Carlos Condit to Jake Ellenberger to Silva, this summer, this fall, or this winter. The line snakes around the block. Hendricks more than deserves the shot, particularly if he beats Condit that same night. He has been deserving for what feels like years. If Hendricks and St-Pierre both win, that fight seems obvious.

In 2011, maybe. In 2013, not so fast.

That’s because people like Silva and Henderson happen to exist. Though Silva is now booked to fight Weidman at UFC 162, he can't help but still hover over St-Pierre in 2013. Now with a new contract, it's possible he courts that St-Pierre fight sooner rather than later. St-Pierre would have to be coaxed into agreeing, of course, which is never a given.

In other words, even if all goes to plan and both GSP and Hendricks win, Hendricks could find himself on the outside looking in. Yet again. If that were the case, maybe Hendricks could fight Rory MacDonald next, who was scrapped from the card when he got injured. He was supposed to face Condit.

And speaking of Condit, he could emerge as a dark horse in the St-Pierre sweepstakes. If he takes care of No. 1 contender Hendricks, he has some ammo. After all, the first fight had that fleeting moment when Condit came unnervingly close. And if Diaz pulls the upset over St-Pierre and somehow makes it out of Montreal in one piece, same thing -- Diaz-Condit II is viable (unless the fight results in a scorecard nightmare and St-Pierre/Diaz II has to be played back immediately). If Condit wins and somebody texts Dana White to jump the line to GSP, you’ve still got the Condit-MacDonald vendetta to sort out. No scenario is without a silver lining.

There are other factors. Ellenberger is on the card fighting Nate Marquardt, who two years after trying to debut at 170 pounds in the UFC finally gets his chance. One of them -- namely Ellenberger -- could factor into this title discussion, too. Much like an 8-7 NFL team heading into the final regular season game in a tight Wild Card race -- Ellenberger is mathematically alive, but needs help. He needs an emphatic showing and some smiling fortune, such as Johny Hendricks losing. The UFC might jump him to the top to avoid rolling back Condit-GSP II too soon in that case (even though Ellenberger lost to Condit narrowly in 2009). Unless Diaz wins, that is, and Condit faces a long medical suspension in victory.

Imagine that: Diaz-Ellenberger is the potential title fight nobody is talking about.

What’s at stake come March 16 in this makeshift welterweight grand prix? Feels like plenty. But in 2013, “what’s at stake” has turned into a versatile question. There is no obvious answer. And if you ask White beforehand, you’re likely to get his go-to response for most things yon: We’ll see what happens.

Fight fans had cause for serious eye-rolling back in January, when UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg kicked off the organization’s first pay-per-view of 2013 by proclaiming this would be the “year of the superfight” inside the Octagon.

Guys in Goldberg’s position are paid to be hyperbole-prone, after all, and the commentary on UFC broadcasts is typically more hype than substance. Add in the fact the company was coming off a year where it couldn’t plan a Sunday brunch without half the invited guests dropping out due to injury or sudden illness, and a certain skepticism seemed justified.

Imagine our surprise, then, when nearly two full months into the new year, Goldberg (or whoever fed him that line) appears downright prophetic. To date, the UFC’s upcoming schedule looks “super” indeed, both for better and for worse.

Take for example the proposed interdivisional superbout between featherweight champion Jose Aldo and lightweight contender Anthony Pettis, which we were briefly told was off over the weekend, but was suddenly back on as of Monday. In terms of potential in-ring action that fight is as super-duper as they come, but otherwise serves as just the latest reminder that the organization’s matchmaking has become maddeningly random. Not to mention confusing.

Aldo-Pettis is scheduled for August and will be for Aldo’s featherweight title, but now an additional stipulation has been added. If Aldo (who has never fought at lightweight in the UFC) retains his belt by defeating Pettis (again, in a bout at 145 pounds) he’ll get a shot at the 155-pound championship sometime later this year. Conversely, if the featherweight crown falls to Pettis (who, again, is a natural lightweight) we can only assume he’ll stay at 145 for the foreseeable future.

In other words it’s a fun fight that will probably make some money, but not the kind of thing you want to think too deeply about if you lack immediate access to Ibuprofen.

(Side Note: Remember also that during that 48-hour window when Aldo was refusing to fight Pettis, he implied “Showtime” didn’t deserve it, because he’d never won a fight in the UFC featherweight division? Apparently, Aldo doesn’t apply that same standard to himself.)

Elsewhere, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his title against a second consecutive middleweight opponent in April, and (with apologies to Lyoto Machida) a victory could set the stage for Jones to take on erstwhile heavyweight Daniel Cormier. If that doesn’t happen, there’s a longshot chance the UFC could still pull off a megafight between Jones and middleweight champ Anderson Silva. Silva, you’ll remember, most recently fought at light heavyweight and may end up squaring off with welterweight king Georges St-Pierre if the Jones fight won’t go.

If you find yourself perplexed by this company-wide game of divisional musical chairs, you are not alone. Just imagine how a dude like Ricardo Lamas must feel.

Lamas is currently No. 5 on ESPN.com’s featherweight Power Rankings and is riding a four-fight win streak over mostly Top 10-caliber 145-pound opponents. He might well have been up next for Aldo had Pettis not purportedly called out the champ via opportunistic text messages sent to UFC President Dana White a couple of weeks back.

Pettis allegedly texted White about his desire to fight Aldo while watching him defeat Frankie Edgar (another lightweight, one Aldo had no qualms fighting despite coming in off back-to-back losses) at UFC 156 earlier this month. Pettis himself was fresh off a first-round TKO of Donald Cerrone in January, which at the time we were told made him the No. 1 contender at lightweight. As the story goes, White found whatever was said in those texts so convincing that he scrapped the natural pecking order in both weight classes to insert Pettis into a featherweight title match.

An awesome move? Of course, but also one that was bound to rub some people the wrong way. Especially people who care about things like weight classes and title pictures and the UFC’s own newly minted “official” rankings system. That goes double for people like Lamas, who’s been working his tail off to earn a shot at Aldo for a bit shy of two years now.

“What am I, a mirage?!?!?!” Lamas tweeted, when Aldo-Pettis was announced.

We feel your pain, Ricardo. Unfortunately, the music has stopped and you’re the only one without a chair.

Before any of this Aldo-Pettis business happens of course, UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson will meet incoming Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez in an April “superfight” that somehow manages to confine itself to a single weight class. Not to be outdone by his peers however, Henderson is now declaring if he beats Melendez, he’ll request his own dream fight against St. Pierre at 170 pounds.

White has said he’s not particularly interested in booking that fight (both Henderson and GSP seem to have a lot on their plates) but who knows, maybe someone will send him a text that changes his mind.

Long story short: It’s not even March yet and so far -- knock on wood -- it looks like we’re going to get some amazing fights out of the UFC this year. So long as we don’t trouble ourselves with the details, it could be quite a ride.

Chael Sonnen has highlighted the almighty task facing him at UFC 159, insisting light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is "considerably better" than Anderson Silva. More »