Jon Jones and scheduled opponent Anthony Johnson played a brutal prank on UFC CEO Dana White.
Jon Jones has been at the center of some of the most heated rivalries in UFC history. Jones’s feuds with the likes of Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson, and Rashad Evans are legendary in UFC history books.
Jones is regarded by many as the greatest UFC light heavyweight of all-time, and many consider him the greatest all-time fighter overall. He ran through a slew of legends, including Lyoto Machida and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, during his multiple light heavyweight title reigns.
But one of Jones’s fights that never came to fruition resulted in a hilarious pre-fight press conference moment.
Jon Jones and Anthony Johnson played a ruthless prank on Dana White
Jones and UFC knockout artist Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson were slated to fight at UFC 187 in May 2015. It was Jones’s return to the Octagon after defeating Cormier in their first fight at UFC 182 by unanimous decision.
Jones, Johnson and several other top-name fighters featured at a UFC press conference to mark the promotion’s ‘Welcome to the Show’ campaign in Los Angeles. After cordial press conference exchanges on the mic between Jones and Johnson, things briefly took a wild turn when they faced off on stage.
Jones and Johnson’s heads clashed as they came face-to-face on stage, before Johnson shoved Jones off of him as UFC CEO Dana White intervened. In what was originally thought to be another faceoff brawl featuring Jones, it turns out that Jones and Johnson teamed up to play a brutal prank on the UFC headman.
As Jones assured White that it was all a prank, White was visibly embarrassed after the heated faceoff was all a ruse. Jones and Johnson took things a step further as they mocked Cormier’s infamous ceremonial weigh-in faceoff with Jones ahead of UFC 182.
Unfortunately, the comical moment between Jones and Johnson didn’t lead to the fight coming to fruition. Jones was stripped of the UFC light heavyweight title and suspended indefinitely just weeks later after he was involved in a hit-and-run accident in New Mexico.
Cormier filled in for the suspended Jones at UFC 187, winning the then-vacant UFC light heavyweight championship over Johnson by third-round submission. Jones didn’t return to the Octagon until UFC 197, when he defeated Ovince Saint-Preux for the interim UFC light heavyweight belt.
Johnson tragically passed away in 2022 due to organ failure stemming from his battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He amassed a 23-6 record in his professional MMA career.
Jon Jones appeared to reverse UFC retirement in recent bombshell announcement
Jones recently announced his MMA retirement after months of back-and-forth contract talks with the UFC brass to fight Tom Aspinall. Aspinall was recently promoted from interim titleholder to undisputed heavyweight champion and is expected to return by the end of the year.
But Jones has since backtracked on his earlier retirement announcement, and re-entered the UFC’s drug testing pool. This prompted speculation that Jones could return to the Octagon in 2026 against Aspinall or another top heavyweight.
While Jones’s abrupt end to his UFC career has rubbed many fans and analysts the wrong way, there’s no denying his greatness inside the Octagon. We could be months away from Jones treating fans to another legendary moment in UFC history.
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