Chael Sonnen was on the phone, a hopeful sound in his voice.
"Please," he asked, "please, please tell me that I'm fighting Jones. Please."
When the answer was yes, that he would indeed be coaching opposite UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones on the 17th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" and then fighting him in a pay-per-view bout on April 27, Sonnen unleashed a long, sustained roar.
Jon Jones talks to the media after his UFC 152 win over Vitor Belfort. (UFC)
"Oh thank you," he said, as he cheered his own good fortune. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And let me call you back. I've got to call my Mom and tell her."
And with that, what should be one of the biggest pay-per-view cards in UFC history, first reported by the Los Angeles Times, officially kicked off.
You don't have to like it. I sure don't. I'd much rather have seen Jones fight middleweight champion Anderson Silva in his next bout in a match that would have pitted far and away the two best fighters in the world. The reality, though, is that there are 800,000 or so out there, maybe even a million, who will pay the $50 the UFC asks to see Jones and Sonnen fight.
The match came about, UFC president Dana White said, because of yet another injury. The company has been plagued by major, long-term injuries to its biggest stars and top fighters throughout 2012.
This time, it was an injury to Jones himself that led to the coaching stint on TUF and the fight with Sonnen being made.
