The status of Jon Jones was one of the hottest stories in mixed martial arts for a few weeks as the UFC announced a rematch with Alexander Gustafsson that Jones had not yet agreed to. Yesterday, on The MMA Hour, Jones called that move “unprofessional” and claimed the UFC was using “bully tactics.”
Jones also appeared on “America’s Pregame” on Fox Sports 1 yesterday and was asked who he felt was more deserving of a title shot between Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier, the man UFC president Dana White claimed Jones would have rather faced.
“I would say Daniel Cormier has better accolades and has the better record. He’s undefeated and he’s beaten former world champions before. He is a world champion in the Strikeforce organization. So I would say Cormier,” Jones said. But, the light heavyweight champ said that his opinion wasn’t the one that mattered most, “I think the fans want to see me fight Alexander more and I think that’s what’s most important.”
Jones has always had a rocky relationship with the fans, many of whom can’t quite make up their minds on how they want him to act. But he’s starting to relate that to other major sports stars.
“”LeBron in his prime, he gets hated on so hard,” he said. “I’m embracing it and realizing if I wasn’t in this position, no one would care and no one would be talking.”
Jones and the UFC brass did eventually meet to iron out the details of the rematch, with everything but a location set at this point. Jones says that they’ve improved their relationship through the process, “We’re looking to build from here. We talked about being in personal communication more and calling each other and not going through management as much.”