White, Jones look to mend fences at UFC 152
By BOB EMANUEL JR. | Scripps Howard News Service
When Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White and UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones meet this week, both men will have to rebuild what has become a tense relationship.
Jones, arguably one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, eschewed a chance to save a sinking pay-per-view less than a month ago when his opponent for UFC 151 Sept. 1, Dan Henderson, was forced by injury to withdraw less than two weeks before the event. Presented with the opportunity to fight former middleweight contender Chael Sonnen on just eight days notice, Jones declined and UFC 151 was canceled.
White, the vitriolic company front man, publicly lambasted both Jones and his trainer Greg Jackson over the decision. White and Jones are forced back into the spotlight together this week, however, as the two promote UFC 152, which will air live on pay-per-view at 4 p.m. HST from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Jones will headline the event against former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort.
“One thing you know about me, in 12 years, I don’t take anything back,” White said. “… Jon and I haven’t seen each other since that whole thing. We’ll see each other in Toronto. Him and I need to get in a room, face to face, and talk. I’ve been in this business for 12 years, and I’ve dealt with just about everybody you could deal with. Good guys, bad guys, and Jon Jones isn’t a bad guy. So, you know, I don’t take anything back about what I said. He and I will get into a room in Toronto, and we’ll talk face to face.”
White once again experienced issues getting UFC 152 together. Top contenders did not want to fight Jones with less than a full training camp. Belfort, who recently competed as a middleweight, sought out the opportunity.
“I think it’s going to be great,” Jones said of the fight against Belfort. “I think a lot of people are going to get together and watch this fight.”
UFC 152 also features the flyweight title bout between Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson to crown the division’s first champion. Middleweights Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann, light heavyweights Matt Hamill vs. Roger Hollett and featherweights Cub Swanson vs. Charles Oliveira are also featured.
QUICK JABS: Less than a month after the cancellation of UFC 151, the promotion was faced with another difficult situation when the top two bouts at next month’s UFC 153 in Brazil were scrapped due to injury. Featherweight champion Jose Aldo suffered an injury to his foot and ankle last week and could not defend his belt against Frankie Edgar. Earlier that day, former light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was forced out of his bout against Glover Teixeira with an undisclosed injury. “Rampage is hurt and is out of UFC 153 in (Rio de Janeiro),” White said on Twitter. “Now, Aldo is out with a foot injury, main and co-main in the same day. Another amazing day at the UFC; we have some work to do.” The “work” resulted in a major coup for the UFC, as Brazilian superstar and middleweight champion Anderson Silva will move up to light heavyweight to fight Stephan Bonnar in a three-round main event … Bellator Fighting Championships, which hired numerous high-profile fighters this year, lost its heavyweight champion last week when 28-year-old Cole Konrad announced his retirement. Konrad, 28, will follow in the tradition of his family and begin a career as an agricultural commodities trader, specializing in dairy products. “I thoroughly enjoyed my time inside the Bellator cage, but having the consistency and stability of going to the office every day is something that just made sense to me,” Konrad said.
