More news is beginning to trickle in regarding the absolutely absurdity that is the Jon Jones title defense after UFC 151 was cancelled. We know that Jones is now fighting Vitor Belfort at UFC 152, but the question remains: What happened to the proposed bout with Lyoto Machida?
On the emergency phone call yesterday with UFC President Dana White, White announced that Machida would face Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 152 in Toronto. He made it a point to explain that Jones had to accept the fight, and that if he didn’t, there would be consequences. The UFC even went as far as to create an updated poster for UFC 152 featuring Jones and Machida.
This brings us back to the original question of what happened to Machida?
This afternoon, Machida’s management team released a statement explaining why the karate specialist is not fighting Jones in Toronto.
Machida’s reasoning is because he didn’t want to take a fight on four weeks’ notice. This isn’t the first time that he’s turned down a bout on short notice. He was briefly linked to Rashad Evans at UFC 133 last summer, but tried to get additional money to take the bout.
Regarding UFC 152, Machida had the following to say: “I want to serve the UFC and recapture the belt. I always respect my opponent. For those reasons, I must prepare myself in the manner I believe in.”
The release went even further to explain that Machida would have taken the bout at UFC 153 in Brazil had it been offered. It would have allowed for an additional three weeks for preparations.
All quotes were obtained first-hand.
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