Jones Refuses Sonnen Fight, White Furious With Champion, Greg Jackson

Jones turned down Sonnen fight, decision causes cancellation of UFC 151

The announcement that UFC 151 was cancelled today rocked the mixed martial arts world.

Eight days out of the September 1 event, Dan Henderson was forced to withdraw from his main event bout against light heavyweight champion Jon Jones due to an injury, but, shockingly, that was the not the reason this event was cancelled.

Instead, the last-minute media call came about because another first for the promotion happened today; a champion turned down a replacement.

UFC president Dana White revealed on said call that former middleweight top contender Chael Sonnen, who recently announced his move to light heavyweight, agreed to step up to fight the champ on very short notice.

But Jones turned the fight down after his head trainer Greg Jackson advised him to.

And White is understandably furious with both those individuals, emphasizing on several occasions that he has never had that happen before and, if Jones had accepted that fight, the event would still be taking place on September 1.

Now, Jones meets Lyoto Machida on September 22 at UFC 152.

He was asked if Jones had accepted the fight and what would happen if he refused it, questions based off the fact that Jones has expressed large disinterest in fighting again.

“I’ll have another media call (if Jones turns down the fight), and it won’t be good,” White said.

What can be assumed from that statement is simple; if “Bones” turns down that fight, he will likely be released from the promotion.

The UFC has not confirmed whether or not the champion has accepted that fight.

Still, White never failed to hide his emotion, which seemed a mixture of rage and disappointment, throughout the media call.

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