In a new interview with the Toronto Sun, UFC Light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones gives his most frank assessment yet how he views his current situation, a week removed from the canceled UFC 151 card, and a fortnight from his next fight at UFC 152.
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On the fan backlash he’s experiencing:
“There are a lot of people who still love and respect me, but right now it’s kind of cool to hate me.
“I do something and it’s the worst thing in the world. Then when someone else does it, it’s almost OK. Chael says all this crazy stuff, but then I say something slight and it’s like, ‘Oh, that was the cockiest thing I’ve ever heard.’ Dan Henderson called me a kid 1,000 times leading up to that fight and we never even fought. I call him an old man once and the whole world was like, ‘You freakin’ age discriminator. You’re such a bad person.’
“Wow. I can’t get away with anything and everyone else does pretty much whatever they want.”
On Dan Henderson:
“There’s some unfinished business, for sure. I don’t think Henderson handled the situation wisely, by making fun of me for not taking the fight (against Sonnen). Dude, you just dodged a bullet and you’re talking trash to me? You got injured and you’re going to talk trash that I didn’t fight Chael?
“He came out with this ad that said, ‘Buy a Hendo shirt and get a free Jon Jones shirt to dry your car off with.’ You’re making fun of me, yet you got hurt and dodged a bullet? You’re sitting at home with ice on your knee and I’m here doing pushups again because I thought my camp should have been over. I have stuff to do and you’re sitting around your home playing video games, or whatever you do during the day.”
On his new fight with Vitor Belfort:
“I thought it was kind of random, but everything inside of me was like, ‘Wow, this is awesome. I got nervous right away. That nervous feeling is good. That means you respect the guy you’re going against.”
On his relationship with Dana White:
“People make irrational decisions when they’re angry. I’m over it in every way, shape or form. Me having a beef or problem with the UFC or Dana gets me nowhere. I’m really over it … He really didn’t insult me. He didn’t call me a name or anything. He just said how he felt about me at the time. So I’m over it, man.”
