On August 23, 2012, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF)C made history — and not the good kind — after the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion was forced to, for the first-time ever, cancel a pay-per-view (PPV) event
That’s because Jon Jones refused to defend his Light Heavyweight title against Chael Sonnen at UFC 151 on less than 10 days notice after his original opponent, Dan Henderson, bowed out with an injury. What followed was an onslaught of criticism aimed at “Bones” and his team in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Fast forward almost four years later, and Jones found himself without an opponent, yet again, three weeks out from a pivotal title fight after current division champion Daniel Cormier was bounced from UFC 197 — which is set for April 23, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada — with a knee injury
This time, though, Jones welcomed all comers as late replacements, as he recently revealed on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting) that he opted to break his protocol of accepting last-minute changes in foes as a way to make up for the whole UFC 151 debacle.
He also reveals that Ovince Saint Preux wasn’t the first guy to accept the fight.
“Originally, the UFC called me and asked about Anthony Johnson. They said that he had already accepted the fight, and they asked me if I was going to accept the fight. I told them I needed a meeting with my coaches. I had a meeting with my coaches, and the next morning I called the UFC said let’s do this thing. They said that Anthony’s camp changed their mind, I guess, since he had some dental work he needed to do. That made no sense to me whatsoever, for him to be ready at one point and then the next minute it was dental work. So I just told Lorenzo (Fertitta), whoever you need me to fight, I want to make things right for UFC 151. I want to do something for my fans, something positive. I know people who have been saving up months to make it out to Vegas for this fight. I know guys who, this is their anniversary gift or birthday gift from people, and I was like, you know what, I’ve put my fans through so much already. I need to get out there and just put it on the line. So I said I’ll fight anybody. They came up with Ovince.”
Indeed, Jones has had his fans on edge over the last two years, with one legal hiccup after another, which includes a hit-and-run accident, a few stints in jail as well as a recent public relations dilemma after he was caught on tape engaging in a heated argument with a police officer.
“Bones” and “OSP” will vie for the interim division title, with the winner earning a shot to unify the belts against Cormier later this year.
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