UFC 151: Den förlorade galan. Efter gårdagens kaos är UFC 151 inställt helt och hållet, och de som skulle gått matcher på galan är spridda runt om i andra galor. Dan Henderson hade skadat sig, och Jones blev erbjuden en match mot Chael Sonnen istället. Jones tackade dock nej till denna, och i efterhand så anser han att det hela var ett korrekt beslut.
”Dan Henderson got hurt, and the fight was canceled,” säger Jones till MMAjunkie.com. ”I signed a contract a long time ago to fight Dan Henderson. That’s what I studied for, and that’s what I prepared myself for. To take a fight with a different opponent in which I would basically have three days of training before traveling and then starting to cut weight I just thought would be the dumbest idea ever. I wouldn’t have been properly prepared.”
Enligt UFCs VD Dana White så var allt det här Jon Jones fel att galan blev inställd, men detta är inget uttalande som Jones själv håller med om.
”I definitely apologize to the other fighters on the card,” fortsätter Jones. ”I feel terrible, but it also wasn’t my decision to cancel the whole card. I don’t make those decisions. I take a lot of pride in the way I perform, and I want to put on the best performance possible every time I fight. I don’t want to go out there just to win the fight. I want to go out there to dominate. I want to make it look effortless. I want it to be a beautiful thing.”
”… Greg Jackson wasn’t going to show up until Friday. Coach (Mike) Winkeljohn wasn’t going to be there until Wednesday or Thursday. I would have been pretty much on my own trying to prepare for a new opponent. That’s just not the best way to prepare.”
Överlag så har reaktionerna över vad som hänt varit negativa, och många av dom har varit negativt riktade mot Jones personligen.
”If this was my first fight in the UFC and I really didn’t have a choice and they needed somebody to step in last minute, if it was that type of scenario, then I’d probably more open to it,” säger Jones. ”But I’m a UFC champion, and I need to perform that way. If I would have taken this fight, that would have been letting my ego get in the way and not using my intellect. This is war, and you have to go in there prepared.
The criticism does bother me, but I have to stand by my decision. I have to be the man that I am. With such large audiences comes great criticism. There will be a lot of scrutiny, but I’ve got to do what makes me happy and feels right to me. At the end of the day, I have to make the best choice for me and my family.”
Jones är nu tillbaka i träningen igen, och förbereder sig nu inför sin match mot Vitor Belfort på UFC 152 den 22 september.
”I apologize to the people that lost money on tickets and travel and things like that. I don’t apologize for my decision, but I do apologize for the way it affected people. I hope people can understand I was just trying to do the best thing for my career. Dan Henderson got hurt, and our fight was canceled. As difficult as it is to deal with everything that’s happened, I just didn’t feel like I had enough time to prepare both physically and mentally for a fight with a new opponent. I just didn’t feel I had enough to prepare properly and perform at my best. Whether Chael Sonnen actually deserves a title shot really isn’t my place to say. But if he wants to fight on Sept. 22, then I’m fine with that.”
