After hinting that he might move up from middleweight to light heavyweight following his loss to Anderson Silva in July, Chael Sonnen has announced the move – and his opponent.
Sonnen will make the climb to 205 pounds and will face former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin at the promotion's year-end show on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas. Griffin beat Sonnen with a first-round submission nearly nine years ago in a regional promotion. Sonnen made the announcement on Tuesday's edition of "UFC Tonight" on FUEL TV.
The UFC's Dec. 29 show, though not yet announced by the promotion, is likely to be UFC 155. It will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between champion Junior Dos Santos and former champ Cain Velasquez.
Though a venue for the card is not yet known, it will take place either at the MGM Grand Garden Arena or Mandalay Bay Events Center. The Sonnen-Griffin fight is likely to serve as the pay-per-view's co-main event.
After back-to-back wins over Brian Stann and Michael Bisping, Sonnen (28-12-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC) got his rematch with Silva at UFC 148. But he lost by second-round TKO. Not long after the fight, the outspoken Oregon native dropped hints that he was considering going up a weight class. Tuesday, he made it official.
Sonnen said Griffin has been overlooked in the conversation for potential challengers for light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who on Sept. 1 defends his title against Dan Henderson.
"A number of years ago, I fought with a guy who turned out to become a very good friend of mine, and I lost the match," Sonnen said. "Since becoming friends and competitors with him, I've also become a fan. I watched him win the world championship. I watched him etch his name in stone as a guaranteed future Hall of Famer. … He's the one guy Jon Jones hasn't fought. He's beat two world champions in his last three outings.
"I get very frustrated that Forrest's name is left out of the conversation. This is a guy who's beat everybody, and he's never been in the talks to fight Jon Jones. He's coming off a fight with Tito Ortiz, one of the most decorated light heavyweights of all time – a Hall of Famer. They go out and have a 'Fight of the Night,' an awesome performance, and still, he gets overlooked."
Sonnen implied that his sights are set squarely on Jones' title – but that he wanted to earn the opportunity.
"I could go up to 205 and I could take Jon Jones' belt the same as I could take his candy on Halloween – a little punk kid, I'd snatch it away all I want," Sonnen said. "But there's something to be said in sportsmanship for earning your shot. And on the 29th of December, I'm going to go through Forrest to do it."
Griffin (19-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) fought on the same UFC 148 card as Sonnen and beat Ortiz by split decision in the rubber match of their trilogy. It was Griffin's first fight since an August 2011 loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 134.
Though the UFC has not yet made the fight official, UFC President Dana White recently said he believes the time is coming for Griffin to consider retirement. But that apparently will have to wait.
Source: Chael Sonnen moves to 205, gets rematch with Forrest Griffin at UFC's year-end show