Quote: Alistair Overeem Takedown Caused Jon Jones’ Torn Meniscus, But It’s Part Of The Game

More details are beginning to emerge about the injury that caused UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones to withdraw from fighting Daniel Cormier at UFC 178. The news broke last night that “Bones” would be unable to compete in September, and the initial rumours ranged from a rolled ankle to a torn meniscus.

As it turns out, Jones is believed to have suffered a torn meniscus on his right leg, as well as a rolled ankle. Jones’ coach Greg Jackson spoke to Sherdog.com to reveal the cause of the accident:

“It’s part of the game, it wasn’t like … somebody went for a flying kick and dislocated [something]. Somebody went for a takedown, [Jones] stepped the wrong way, twisted the wrong way and down he went. He was fighting it, and he just twisted it. And then it just popped, Alistair’s maybe 240, Jon’s 220. It’s not like he was working with a giant moose. It was just one of those things.”

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Overeem was once accused by Gilbert Burns of purposefully injuring fighters at the Blackzilians gym in Florida, although I highly doubt he would be hoping to injure “Bones” ahead of the biggest event this year. So a simple takedown attempt caused the breakdown of the UFC 178 super-card, which is now headlined by Demetrious Johnson and Chris Cariaso for the flyweight strap. Jackson then gave his thoughts on the silver linings of Jones’ injury:

“One positive I think there is, is [Cormier] was having a shorter camp, I’m sure he was going to be worried about getting in shape, and we didn’t want any excuses from him. This gives DC plenty of time to get better at every aspect he wants to get better at and heal whatever needs to heal.”

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“If Jon is lucky enough to earn a victory over Cormier, he should be the best Cormier that you can possibly fight. That’s why you’re fighting. If you’re just fighting to win, you can fight bums all day long,” Jackson said. “If you’re trying to fight the best when they’re the best, that means a little more. The more training for Daniel, the better, and vice versa for Jon. [When] Daniel fights Jon it should be at Jon’s best. That’s the whole point of the thing.”

At least (hopefully) we will get to see both guys at full fitness for their tentatively set January bout. As is quite common with huge fights, there are plenty of bumps in the road concerning Jones/Cormier. The fact is that the hype caused at the UFC 178 media day brawl, and the Sportscenter controversy may just fizzle out by the time the two meet.

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Either that, or it will continue to gain momentum. With both “Bones” and “DC” well known for their social media banter, could they add even more fuel to the fire?