http://youtu.be/vvrNctaJXl4
UFC light heavyweight champ appeared on ESPN’s MMA LIVE this past week to talk about his upcoming rematch against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 178 and his thoughts on how the UFC handled the negotiation process. You can tell when Jones is asked about the UFC’s handling of the situation, he chooses his words very carefully and gives a very politically correct answer.
His words:
“That’s funny. I think it was handled the way it had to be. The UFC had to do their certain strategies and things to get the fight done and I had to do my own strategy to get the fight agreed upon. We ultimately came up with something that worked for both of us. Now the fans get what they wanted, which is most important.”
Tell us what you really think Jon. This is quite a contrast to what he told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour last week, when he said he felt the UFC bullied him into the rematch.
Jones said:
“I just kind of identified it with being a like strong-arm technique on their part, trying to get fans pushing for a fight and prematurely announcing a fight. It’s not that I haven’t signed a contract, I hadn’t even heard that date before. I thought it was unprofessional, I thought it was a bullying technique, bully style, I don’t know what it was. But it is what it is.”
So which is it Jon? Was it “handled the way it had to be” by the UFC or was it “unprofessional”?
What do you think?
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The UFC did indeed “bully” Jones into fighting Gust by announcing the fight before he even agreed to it, and that was indeed unprofessional. Jones then used that as leverage to get a hefty sum in order to sign a new contract with the UFC that made him “Very happy.” The UFC needed this fight to happen and bent his arm, but he got a very favorable contract as a result. The UFC pushed, and he pushed back, and in the end everybody wins. Of course he “flip flopped” because he naturally wasn’t happy about the situation intially, but those millions he (presumably ) earned from the new contract changed his tune.