Jon Jones: I think the UFC has learned a lesson

UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones has taken a lot of grief over the cancellation of UFC 151. However, if “Bones” had the chance to do it all over again again, he maintains that he would still turn down UFC President Dana White’s offer of a replacement fight on eight days’ notice.

Jones did not mince words in his latest interview with the Associated Press on the topic of the UFC cancelling the event in Las Vegas last week. He places the blame at the feet of White, himself: “I had to do what’s right for myself by turning down that fight, Dana had to do what was right for himself by putting the blame on everyone else except for himself. The lesson to be learned is, at the end of the day, you have to protect yourself and your family.”

“Bones” won the UFC Light Heavyweight title in March 2011 when he defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and has emerged as one of the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view stars: “I’ve been dealing with a lot of controversy. A lot of insults right now. People tell me, ‘You’re the champ, you’ve got to take the fight,’ Being the champ wasn’t given to me.”

White and Jones have yet to talk since last week’s press conference when the card was cancelled. Jones says that this has been a learning experience for him and points to the weakness of the remainder of the card as to the real reason why it was cancelled: “I think in the future, this can make me and Dana even better off. For him to get out how he felt about me in that situation, it will help me look at things more business-oriented. A lot of good can come out of it. Fighters can learn the lesson of doing what’s best for themselves and not feeling like puppets. I think the UFC has learned a lesson of making sure they stay loyal to the fans and give them full cards.”

In the end, he takes no responsibility for the events which have transpired: “I don’t owe anybody anything.”