9 Years to the Day: When Jon Jones was 27 seconds away from losing his Throne to a horrifying Injury

The dominant Light Heavyweight champion starred alongside Sonnen on the 17th season of The Ultimate Fighter after a prior (and only) PPV cancellation when Sonnen was chosen as a late replacement for Dan Henderson at UFC 151. Jones however declined the fight citing a lack of preparation time.

All that came to a close at UFC 159 when the two faced off. Sonnen was still riding the fan wave birthed after his legendary 5-round beat down of Anderson Silva. Although no one expected Chael to deliver the same results against the Light Heavyweight Champion it was expected to be a fun fight to conclude the PPV.   

Jon Jones’ accidental Toe break could have cost him his title and changed the entire course of UFC History

Immediately as the clock started, it was clear that Jones was leaps and bounds ahead of Sonnen, opting to be in the clinch and grappling with Chael despite a massive 10+ inch reach advantage. Somewhere towards the end of the fight, Jon Jones dislocated his big toe (phalanx) which somehow he didn’t seem to notice until much later when it was pointed out by Joe Rogan in the Octagon Interview.

 Jones scored a TKO win over Chael with only 27 seconds remaining in the first round. If Jon were to head back to his corner with Chael having survived the ground and pound blitz, it was very unlikely the ringside doctors would let him back in had they noticed. That would mean Chael Sonnen would win his first undisputed title via a Doctors stoppage TKO.

Related: “I’m disappointed but patient”- Jon Jones reacts to delay in Stipe Miocic super-fight at 265lbs

After having the belt wrapped around him the Champ and Rogan noticed the injury, with the latter exclaiming, “Oh He has a broken foot.” This is when Jones finally took a seat and continued with the interview. Jones joked about him having to cancel his plans to Jamaica due to the injury and was even complimented by Rogan for his composure to continue the interview.

Also Read: “Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya have to be around each other”- Brendan Schaub proposes an interesting idea for UFC 276

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