Dana White has received a lot of criticism for his reported boasting about the heavyweight champion Jon Jones . Despite his inactivity, White believes Jones remains the world’s best fighter pound-for-pound. However, in between all of that admiration, White admitted to having bad times with the UFC heavyweight champion back in 2012.
Continuing his ongoing tradition, White again got into a heated debate on why he considers Jon Jones the P4P ace. Rejecting all the facts from the journalists, White mentioned that Jones was an active fighter. However, White also talked about the time he had a rift with Jones. According to White, it was before the cursed UFC 151 card.
Jon Jones is always been willing to fight everybody. The only real mark with me and Jon Jones and his f***** team that he was with that time, the Chael Sonnen fight. When they refusing to fight Chael Sonnen. Dana White via Contender Series presser
Chael Sonnen and Jon Jones were expected to fight at UFC 151 but the fight ultimately got scrapped after Jones refused. Jones was originally scheduled to face Dan Henderson, but Henderson pulled out due to an injury. The UFC made Sonnen available as a last-minute substitute, but Jones turned it down, saying he needed more time to prepare for a different opponent.
Dana White debates the media on Jon Jones. pic.twitter.com/dZjUyFs0tB
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 28, 2024
UFC 151 did not go through as planned, becoming the organization’s first-ever event cancelation. Jones was harshly criticized for this choice by the fight fans as well as by Dana White. However, White believed that the main culprit was Jones’ head coach.
Renowned mixed martial arts coach Greg Jackson is well-known for having trained notable fighters, including Rashad Evans, Jon Jones, and Georges St-Pierre. However, after the cancellation of UFC 151, Dana White blamed Jackson for not allowing Jones to fight Sonnen on short notice.
White frequently criticized Greg Jackson‘s coaching style, claiming that fighters in Jackson’s camp were sometimes overly cautious. After the UFC 151 debacle, White blasted Jackson by labeling him a ‘sport killer.’ This ranks among the top 5 best rants from the UFC boss
His coach Greg Jackson says ‘There’s no way you take this fight. It would be the biggest mistake of your entire career’, Wow. How much faith do you have in your champion and your guy…this guy is a f***** sport killer. Dana White via UFC 151 cancelation presser through audio call
Listen to the rant from 4.08 in the video
According to White, Sonnen, who fought at middleweight, was ready to fight at 200 lbs with no prior training for Jones. However, it was too much for Jones’ camp to take the risk. Both Sonnen and Jones ultimately fought at UFC 159, in which Jones won via TKO in the first round.
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