The tension between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans has just escalated a few more notches, and to say both fighters share a mutual disliking for one other would be putting it nicely.
Following his win at UFC 135 over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Jones would learn that his next opponent would be none other than Evans, who was once his former teammate at Greg Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts.
The story couldn’t of been written any better as the former training partners had an ugly fallout prior to Jones’ title bout against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua that resulted in Evans leaving the camp and settling in Boca Raton, Fla. at Imperial Athletics.
Their staredown during a post-fight interview didn’t involve much communication from the two rivals, but there was a clear indication their friendship is as good as gone.
Jones continued to refrain from answering any questions regarding Evans during the post-fight press conference, however after Jackson suggested Evans was the one challenger who could pose as a threat to Jones’ title reign, the 24-year-old felt prompted to share his opinion.
“I will say this about Rashad: he does not have my number, he’s not even close to having my number,” Jones said.
Evans has opened up about his training sessions with Jones since their fallout and said he had got the better of “Bones” during sparring on several occasions. However, Jones quickly disputed the idea of Evans’ story and said it had only happened one time.
“Me and Rashad we sparred a few times, and every time we sparred I know what could have happened,” he said.
“He talks about one day at practice where he held me down, and he lives that day in his head everyday. So, we’ll see.”
The bad blood between Jones and Evans is evident and seems very real and the fact that these two competitors share a past together makes for an intriguing title bout when they meet each other sometime next year.
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