Dana White: I do not hate Jon Jones – UFC News
Following UFC 151’s cancellation, Dana White has been harsh towards UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. However, the president claims he does not hate Jones.
“Do I hate Jon Jones or have animosity toward him right now? I don't,” said White to MMAFighting.com. “If I did, I'd tell, you, I think you know that. We'll find out. As we move along in our relationship, we'll find out where we're at. It's a little weird,
it’s never happened before, Jon Jones is, all my other interactions with Jon Jones have been, he's a young guy.”
Surely, White was disappointed with Jon Jones’ refusal to fight Chael Sonnen, which eventually led to the cancellation of UFC 151. Jones was among White’s favourite fighters but all of a sudden it all fell down to ground zero.
“Has he made some bad choices? Yeah. Who hasn't at that age? Seriously. ... When you're in your early 20s, its hard to keep the wheels on the bus when all the fame and money and everything starts hitting,” White added.
Surprisingly, White believes Jones’ trainer played a major role in convincing Jones to decline the fight against Sonnen. According to White, Greg Jackson, Jones’ trainer, had a major role in the play, as he believes Jackson is a businessperson and he has
the knack of convincing his fighters to stay with them. Greg Jackson always claims to be Jones’ family but White denies it. According to White, the day things go real bad, Jackson will not be there anymore.
For now, White feels that the cancellation of UFC 151 was partially Jones’ and mostly his trainer’s fault. White, who initially blamed Jones for the entire scenario, is now a bit relaxed, believing that it was meant to happen.
As of now, White is hopeful that the UFC 152 card will go smoothly. Jon Jones is scheduled to fight Vitor Belfort at UFC 152, and White is hopeful that the event will happen. If it does not, then probably White will have to call in Chael Sonnen once again.
It should be noted here that Sonnen is already in the mood to replace Belfort at UFC 152.
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