In the case of Dana White vs. Mama Jones, who do you believe?
A day after news broke that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones‘ much-discussed stint in a drug treatment facility reportedly lasted just a single night, White refuted the notion to the Boston Herald, saying that the claims of Jones’ mother were “not necessarily the case,” but declining to elaborate much further than that.
“When the whole story comes out, people will understand, it will be put into perspective,” White said. “When Jon Jones comes out and does his interview, the truth will come out, and everyone will understand. Or they won’t, you know. Jon is a very polarizing guy, people either love him or they hate him. Either way, the truth will come out soon.”
White went on to directly answer those who may criticize the UFC’s decision to allow Jones’ participation in his mega-fight against Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 despite failing a random drug test a month prior to the event and, seemingly, violating the company’s own Code of Conduct by doing so.
“You can bust guys, you can fine guys, but I can’t pull him out of a fight,” White said. “That thing will be in a lawsuit in 3.5 seconds and I’ll lose. So then we don’t have a fight and I’ve still got to pay the money.
“When you start talking about cocaine and some of these other drugs, that’s hardcore stuff, man,” White added. “And that’s when people need help. So I want to know that. I wish I could know what everybody was doing, but you can’t police 567 guys year-round.”
While we have yet to hear from Jones on the matter, the UFC champ is supposedly attending this weekend’s AFC Championship Game in Boston, MA, so perhaps his radio silence will end soon. Either way, there’s much more fun matters to attend to this fine morning, so (for old time’s sake) lean back in the chair of yours, pour yourself that morning coffee, and let’s dive headfirst into some headlines.
6 MUST-READ STORIES
UFC 182 PPV numbers are in. Speaking of Jon Jones, his latest dalliance with pay-per-view drew the biggest numbers of his entire career, raking in between 740,000 and 820,000 pay-per-view buys for his successful UFC 182 title defense over Daniel Cormier.
Welterweight title picture gets even fuzzier. If you hoped for a clearer understanding of the UFC’s muddled welterweight title picture, prepare for disappointment. According to a report on ‘UFC Tonight’, whoever shines the brightest in the Hendricks-Brown-Lombard-MacDonald quartet will land the next crack at champ Robbie Lawler. (Here we go again, y’all, going down the only road we’ve ever known.)
UFC uniforms policy details. My man Jeremy Botter over at Bleacher Report nabbed the details of the UFC’s new Reebok Athlete Outfitting Policy, and boy, there’s some interesting caveats in there. Joe Silva picking fighter shorts colors, penalties of fines and possible fight cancellations because of stubborn cornermen. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Silva signs with WSOF. Longtime light heavyweight Thiago Silva, the dude who engaged in an armed standoff with members of the Broward County police force at his Florida residence last year, and was twice released by the UFC for his actions, inked a deal to fight in a four-man tournament that will decide WSOF’s inaugural 205-pound champion. Ronny Markes, Matt Hamill, and a yet-to-be-named competitor fill out the rest of the throwback bracket.
Reebok’s new man. The Irish featherweight you guys love to hate is now a Reebok man. Conor McGregor became the latest fighter to ink an individual deal with the UFC’s official apparel provider, joining Jon Jones, Anthony Pettis, and Ronda Rousey, among others.
Fights, fights, fights! Hey, fights. Remember those? There were a few good ones announced yesterday. Like this one, and this one, and even this one. (And here’s an okay one for good measure.)
MEDIA STEW
Another day, another ‘Embedded’. If you put the over/under of Siver airtime at three minutes, you were way off.
“Do I need to look serious? Do I feel scared? Do I need to look like a b*tch walking to this motherf**ker?” Incredibly captivating stuff here from Cowboy on the roller coaster that is fight night. (Still blows my mind this dude is fighting on Sunday.)
McGregor calls his shot on ‘Off the Record’. How long will it take to dispatch Jose Aldo later this year? Four minutes.
I have no idea why this is a thing, but Andrei Arlovski uploaded eight seconds of shadow boxing in his pool… so here you go?
A taste of what could be to come. Our own Trillz posted this Aldo vs. McGregor trailer yesterday, and I, for one, appreciate the hell out of it.
Tremendous thumbnail there, Tommy. Just tremendous.
MIXING THINGS UP
Preparando a cabeça para o grande dia! #cortedecabelo — Preparing my head for the big day! #haircut #newvisual pic.twitter.com/vhj5MjpdHm
— Vitor Belfort (@vitorbelfort) January 14, 2015
CONGRATS!
Huge news today! @Mrs_Immortal is pregnant! What’s the odds we have twins again?
— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) January 14, 2015
THOSE GOTTA BE PLASTIC WEIGHTS
It feels good to be able to get back into lifting hard and making my knee stronger than ever. pic.twitter.com/s0zf7B8obB
— John Dodson III (@JohnDodsonMMA) January 14, 2015
THANKS…
Goooooood Morning! pic.twitter.com/v1iyTYpa5p
— Matt Mitrione (@mattmitrione) January 14, 2015
BACK TO WORK
Guys thank you for the continued support, I love and appreciate every single 1 of u. WE will get better. Thank you all! DC #kingofthegrind
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) January 15, 2015
<3
Nick Diaz on his priorities heading into UFC 183. https://t.co/6PKWm9F9uq
— caposa (@GrabakaHitman) January 14, 2015
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (Wednesday, January 14, 2014):
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes from our own JuggernautLikes, who tries his hand at a few: UFC Boston Predictions
Main Event: Conor McGregor vs. Dennis Siver
The UFC believes it has found a star in the brash Irishman. This is, from a UFC marketing standpoint, the most anticipated Fox Sports 1 Main Event. And after tallying off wins against Marcus Brimage, Max Holloway, Diego Brandao, and Dustin Porier, McGregor now finds himself just a victory away from a title shot against Jose Aldo. His opponent, Dennis Siver, is no slouch and I believe the biggest test of Conor’s career. In fact, Dennis Siver will pull off the upset and leave the Boston fans disappointed. Siver’s ground game is being overlooked, and this will be exactly what he will use to neutralize McGregor’s striking. Siver via Submission
Found something you’d like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me on Twitter @shaunalshatti and we’ll include it in tomorrow’s column.