TORONTO -- The fight business can be both crazy and cruel.
Jon Jones was somewhere in the bowels of the Air Canada Centre getting his injured left arm wrapped and put into a sling when the questions began about who might be next for the light-heavyweight champion.
With four successful title defenses, he's just one shy of tying Tito Ortiz's divisional record. So who might be the man he'll oppose in the fight that could send him into the history books next to Ortiz? How about the man who he briefly was paired up with at UFC 151: Chael Sonnen.
To be blunt, it's unlikely to happen right away. Sonnen, after all, is supposed to fight Forrest Griffin in December. And if he wins, well, UFC president Dana White knows what is likely next.
"He’s going to call out Jones, there’s no doubt," he said. "He’s very good at ... everybody talks about him talking his way into fights, but you know that guy’s going to show up to win."
Jones didn't want to face Sonnen the first time it was proposed to him, but White seemed to believe his stance has changed, saying, "I can tell you right now I think they both want that fight. I just think there's other fights that make sense."
The obvious one is Dan Henderson. He was queued up to face Jones when a knee injury knocked him out of his title opportunity. White seemed to indicate he would probably move back to the front of the line when he's healed up, but didn't outright confirm it.
The issue might be further complicated by the still-undetermined injury Jones suffered at UFC 152. He said afterward that doctors thought it could be nerve damage, but he won't know for sure until he returns home and sees doctors, according to his manager Malki Kawa.
Given the UFC's demanding schedule and the injuries in play, that means that the door is open just a crack for the possibility that Sonnen finds his way into the match he originally wanted. According to White, it is ultimately up to the fans.
"People do want to see it," he said. "I don’t know. Who knows? People do want to see it. If enough people do want to see it, I guess I’d have to make it."