Ahead of his UFC 197 headliner against Ovince Saint Preux for the interim UFC light heavyweight championship, former titleholder Jon Jones talked to the media at Wednesday’s open-workouts, although he chose to not participate in the workout portion of the event. You can watch the full media scrum above (via MMAFighting.com).
Jones was asked about UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who abruptly announced his retirement earlier this week, stating he “decided to retire young.” McGregor was pulled by UFC brass from his upcoming UFC 200 headliner against Nate Diaz, but Jones doesn’t believe the Irishman will actually step away from the sport off mixed martial arts.
“I don’t think he’s retired,” Jones said prior to McGregor releasing a statement. (transcript via ESPN.com). “I don’t think he’s going to retire. Just a few days ago, he said on Instagram he’s hungry like day one. Conor is a fighter and he is a winner. I don’t think he would want to go out on a loss. I think if he doesn’t fight again, his legacy is really that Diaz fight.
“Hats off to him for standing up for what he believes is right. At the end of the day, business is business. The guy obviously has respect for himself and his talents. Fights like this will help fighters in the future. I respect his willingness to fight for what’s right.”
Some of the other topics Jones discussed are:
- Fighting for the first time in 16 months due to 2015 legal troubles (which caused the UFC to strip him of his title and suspend him indefintely).
- Fighting Daniel Cormier with a win over Saint Preux
- Fighting at UFC 200 with Nate Diaz vs. McGregor II scrapped
UFC 197 takes place live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this Saturday, April 23. In the evening’s co-main event, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson defends his title against top contender and Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo.
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