Submission Underground 2 is just a few short weeks away, with former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and Dan Henderson facing off in the main event.
The co-main event of the show will see former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate take on Jessica Eye, but Eye was not the original opponent that promoter and UFC veteran Chael Sonnen had for Tate. Sonnen had originally intended for Mackenzie Dern to face Tate.
“Mackenzie Dern is supposedly a world champion in jiu-jitsu,” Sonnen said on MMA Junkie Radio. “Miesha Tate accepted on the spot, coming in to Mackenzie’s world, (and Mackenzie is) trying to break into MMA. So it’s the opportunity of a lifetime, because she is now going to get to go against the queen of MMA who just was the world champion a minute ago – in her realm, which is jiu-jitsu. Miesha accepts to come into her world, Mackenzie turns the match down. This is insane. This is insane that you were scared to compete in (the sport) which you were allegedly the champion of the world.”
Dern’s manager, Daniel Rubenstein, responded to the claims made by Sonnen in an interview with MMA Junkie.
“She wasn’t competing in December regardless,” Rubenstein said. “She also turned down a fight that didn’t make sense to us. She was planning to fight for Legacy (FC) in December, and then take the rest of December off. She was focused on fighting, and when the fight did not materialize, she basically said she’s going to continue to train and get better for MMA.”
Tate and Eye have fought before in MMA, with Tate defeating Eye by unanimous decision at UFC On Fox 16 in July 2015.
Submission Underground 2 takes place on Sunday, December 11 from the Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon with Jon Jones and Dan Henderson headlining.
