Liddell: White thought Jones and I were going to fight at UFC 196

The tension between Chuck Liddell and Jon Jones led Dana White to believe they might get into it in the stands at UFC 196, according to Liddell. It seems that UFC president Dana White got a bit of a scare at UFC 196. As a guest on Inside MMA…

The tension between Chuck Liddell and Jon Jones led Dana White to believe they might get into it in the stands at UFC 196, according to Liddell.

It seems that UFC president Dana White got a bit of a scare at UFC 196. As a guest on Inside MMA (with new co-host Mauro Ranallo), UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell spoke about meeting up with Jon Jones in the stands at the event. Jones and Liddell have traded barbs a few times, so when they squared up, White thought they might actually fight according to Chuck (transcribed by MMA Fighting):

“He thinks we’re gonna fight. Dana, c’mon. You know me better than that. I’m not that guy.”

Alas, it was just a staged face-off for a Jones Instagram post:

Glad I had the chance to talk things out with Chuck tonight

A photo posted by Jon Bones Jones (@jonnybones) on

That doesn’t mean Liddell is completely over his issues with Jones though. Most recently, Chuck said he would beat Jones in his prime, and could still give him some trouble even at 46. Jones responded, of course. The Iceman expanded on what he thought of Jones’ response:

“Look, man,” Liddell said he told Jones. “If you want to talk trash about me on the Internet, you might want to tag me so I can respond. Instead of just talking trash behind my back. Not that I really care, because it’s the Internet. It’s social media. People talk trash all over the place.

“Dude, you have my phone number. If you ever see an interview and you’re worried about it, call me and we’ll talk it out. If we have a problem, trust me. If I have a problem with you, you won’t have to look for me. I’ll show up.”

When he was asked about maybe fighting Jones in New York (in a joking way), Liddell didn’t shy away from it:

“If he keeps lipping off, maybe.”

…

“If I have a problem with you and we’re gonna get there, I’m just gonna hit you,” Liddell said. “I don’t do that anymore, nothing can happen, but I’m not gonna sit there and get in your face at an event and do this bro-ing up and pushing each other. A fight would just happen.”

Jones probably has other things on his mind at the moment – he’s set to face Daniel Cormier for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 197 next month.