Dana White: Jon Jones, Chris Weidman wanted to fight each other at MSG

LAS VEGAS — The UFC could have had a historic superfight on its hands at Madison Square Garden.

UFC president Dana White said in a Q&A during the UFC Fan Expo that Jon Jones and Chris Weidman were both interested in fighting each other on the UFC’s first card in New York if the state legalized MMA this year.

“Chris Weidman and Jon Jones wanted to fight each other to see who was the King of New York,” White said. “We were talking about that for a while.”

Weidman hails from Long Island, N.Y., and still lives and trains there. Jones is from upstate New York, though he now lives and trains in Albuquerque, N.M. White was not clear on whether that would have been a 205-pound title fight or something at a catchweight.

Of course, multiple circumstances went into busting that dream fight for the time beinhg.

Jones was arrested in April on a felony hit-and-run charge. He’s still awaiting his fate, which is in the hands of the Bernalillo (N.M.) Country district attorney. The UFC suspended Jones indefinitely and stripped him of the light heavyweight title a day after his arrest. “Bones” remains the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but no one knows when he’ll fight again.

Also, last month the MMA bill died again in the New York State Assembly. After eight straight years passing through the Senate by a wide margin, the legislation was not brought to a vote in the Assembly — again. The UFC was more hopeful this year than any other before due to the arrest of now ex-Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver on fraud charges. Silver was believed to be the man most responsible for keeping MMA out of New York.

The UFC actually put a hold on a date — Dec. 5 — for Madison Square Garden. That would have been UFC 194, which now could take place in Canada or Las Vegas. The rumored main event after Jones was suspended was a middleweight title fight between the champion Weidman and Luke Rockhold.

MMA will go back on the table in New York in January. If it gets passed, Weidman is a shoo-in for the card, White said.

“Chris Weidman will definitely be involved and we’ll see what happens with Jones and how this whole situation plays out,” White said. “He probably would have fought there.”

LAS VEGAS — The UFC could have had a historic superfight on its hands at Madison Square Garden.

UFC president Dana White said in a Q&A during the UFC Fan Expo that Jon Jones and Chris Weidman were both interested in fighting each other on the UFC’s first card in New York if the state legalized MMA this year.

“Chris Weidman and Jon Jones wanted to fight each other to see who was the King of New York,” White said. “We were talking about that for a while.”

Weidman hails from Long Island, N.Y., and still lives and trains there. Jones is from upstate New York, though he now lives and trains in Albuquerque, N.M. White was not clear on whether that would have been a 205-pound title fight or something at a catchweight.

Of course, multiple circumstances went into busting that dream fight for the time beinhg.

Jones was arrested in April on a felony hit-and-run charge. He’s still awaiting his fate, which is in the hands of the Bernalillo (N.M.) Country district attorney. The UFC suspended Jones indefinitely and stripped him of the light heavyweight title a day after his arrest. “Bones” remains the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but no one knows when he’ll fight again.

Also, last month the MMA bill died again in the New York State Assembly. After eight straight years passing through the Senate by a wide margin, the legislation was not brought to a vote in the Assembly — again. The UFC was more hopeful this year than any other before due to the arrest of now ex-Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver on fraud charges. Silver was believed to be the man most responsible for keeping MMA out of New York.

The UFC actually put a hold on a date — Dec. 5 — for Madison Square Garden. That would have been UFC 194, which now could take place in Canada or Las Vegas. The rumored main event after Jones was suspended was a middleweight title fight between the champion Weidman and Luke Rockhold.

MMA will go back on the table in New York in January. If it gets passed, Weidman is a shoo-in for the card, White said.

“Chris Weidman will definitely be involved and we’ll see what happens with Jones and how this whole situation plays out,” White said. “He probably would have fought there.”