A light-heavyweight title fight between UFC champion Jon Jones and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson continues to get more intriguing by the day, as Jones has lashed back at the top contender after Jackson accused Jones of spying on his training camp.
Jackson made the accusation after receiving a call from matchmaker Joe Silva, who contacted the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion to inquire about a hand injury he had heard about through Jones’ manager, Malki Kawa.
Wondering how Kawa had learned of his injury, Jackson told Yahoo Sports that he suspected there was a spy involved with his training camp.
This is not the first time Jackson has charged an opponent with spying. After his loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 114, Jackson wondered why Evans had targeted his injured knee with punches, an issue that Jackson believed had been kept quiet heading into the bout.
After hearing of Jackson’s indictment, Jones responded on Twitter.
“@Rampage4real Just so you know, I’m not a person who looks for shortcuts in life,” Jones said. “Unlike you, MMA is not something I do because of money.”
After taking a shot at Jackson, who has often been criticized for his dedication to MMA after pursuing an acting career, Jones continued to defend himself and tried to make it clear that he was not guilty of the spying allegation levied upon him by Jackson.
“It’s a way of life for me and I would never disrespect the integrity of that,” Jones said. “I have way more faith in myself, as well as, respect for the art of fighting to ever stoop that low, that’s just bad karma. Believe me or not, I’ve said my part.. hoping you have a safe and healthy finish to your camp. #Respect.”
Since Jackson mocked Jones’ staredown technique at a pre-fight press conference, the tension between the two light heavyweights has been rising. With less than one month remaining until UFC 135, stay tuned to Bleacher Report MMA for news on this developing story.
Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. Sean has also had his work featured on UFC.com and LowKick.com. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.
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