When the UFC decided to have a Jon Jones-Rashad Evans title fight take place in the future, I think every level-headed fight fan knew the hype for this fight would get ugly quick.
Clearly there is more bad blood between these two than meets the eye. The pre-fight talk has now begun and it is Jones throwing the first verbal jab.
During an interview with ESPN’s Josh Gross, Jones talked about his superiority over Evans when they trained together.
Jones won’t need to go out on a limb to earn his share of media coverage over the summer as a showdown with Rashad Evans, 31, looms. The bout, Jones’ first scheduled title defense, is likely to take place in September, and puts former training partners and friends in the cage together.
The champion, almost brazenly, claims an advantage in style, preparation and experience.
“We fought each other in practice,” said Jones, who pushed his record to 13-1 with last month’s triumph. “A finish has been possible several times and it has always been me finishing him. I never did it out of respect that he was the elder of the school. It’s against protocol in a way. Some people would do it but I believe in tradition.
“He has a lot to study. I have a lot to study, but I get to study[ing] more in-depth. He gets to study[ing] and gets a headache.”
I am not one for bickering about training and fighting, but the more this story plays out, the more it seems Jones instigated the problems. He was the first to say he would fight Evans when Evans was willing to step aside and now he is the first to degrade Evans and his abilities.
Maybe Jones has reasons to be upset, as Evans isn’t shy with his trash talk either. I am sure there is a lot of back story to this fight that we may never know about. All I know is, I can’t wait for this fight to take place.
