9. Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen
A broken toe nearly cost Jon Jones the light heavyweight title, against Chael Sonnen of all people.
The build-up between Jones and Sonnen happened mostly on The Ultimate Fighter 17, one of the last seasons of the reality fighting show that can truly be considered must-see TV. That season brought you Uriah Hall’s crushing knockout and the emergence of Kelvin Gastelum. It also brought about the Jones-Sonnen rivalry, which was a fight promoter’s wet dream.
Sonnen managed to turn himself into an anti-hero in the build-up, proving to be a caring and compassionate coach while schooling Jones verbally. Of course, as most expected, he was no match for Jones in the cage, and was put away within a round at UFC 159 in April 2013.
Thing is, had it gone to a second round, Jones would likely have lost the belt, due to an injury TKO. Turns out, Jones broke his toe, and came close to losing it, while defending a Sonnen takedown. The digit looked pretty gnarly after the fact.
It was in his Fight against Sonnen where @JonnyBones Broke his Toe
Facing adversity,
Jones still finished Sonnen pic.twitter.com/wdohFsi3dS
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) April 27, 2014
