Jon Jones insists the "jealous snake" Rashad Evans never was his friend
Posted on August 8, 2011, 05:27 PM by Joey Santosus"Sometimes I feel like apologizing for whatever I did to him to make him hate me so much. He says I betray him, nonsense. I clearly said I would HATE to have to fight my teammate and the ONLY way it could ever possibly happen is if Dana (White) would fire me over it. He used that to start calling me Judas and a @JacksonsMMA traitor. He was looking for an excuse to bring out his envy after I won the belt. He was never my friend, he's a jealous snake. - For more visit @Jonnybones
Though many were impressed with what appeared to be a new and improved Rashad Evans at UFC 133, Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones wasn't one of them. In fact, Jones took to his Twitter account following the bout and referred to his former friend and training partner's victory over Tito Ortiz as the "same stuff."
Of course, the Tweet didn't take long to draw a response from Evans, who, after being informed of Jones' remarks at the event's post-fight press conference, admitted he'd prefer to be the first to beat the "cocky" champ and said he'd "love to teach him a lesson."
The victory over Ortiz solidified Evans' place as number-one contender, but in order for the match-up to materialize, "Bones" must first pass another test in the form of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 135. If Jones is, indeed, successful in his first title defense, the two rivals will likely square off during the first quarter of 2012. So what's the word LowKick'ers? Will Evans get his opportunity to school Jonny Bones? Or will Jones flunk out against Rampage in Denver?
Further Reading: Evans proves he's one of the P4P best, but is it enough to beat Jon Jones?
Photo: UFC fighter Jon Jones before his fight against Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC-Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko at the San Diego Sports Arena on August 1, 2010, in San Diego, California. Francis Specker
Comments
I hope Jon isn't over looking Rampage, that wouldn't be smart.
It does appear as if he is tho... And while he did go on to say, "first I have to focus on Rampage" (or something to that effect), it seems more like an after thought than a priority.
I think the truth always lies somewhere in between. To be fair, I've included comments and links to each side of their recent verbal exchange. When you analyze this situation tho, I think there is no clear right or wrong party... Rather, just two guys with an obvious indifference for one another, who need to settle things once and for all. I think this will definitely be one of those rivalries that will end with mutual respect and a hug following the fight.
Same here, but you can tell Rashad is definitely in his head.
@spy
if its titos head it wont fit
on the tito note, i think rashad is still looking for a way out of titos head.......
Hope Rampage can beat him mainly cause I'm a huge Page fan but if he can't I'll b rooting for Evans, always thought he had the best chance at beating Jones because of them training together n him knowing Jones weaknesses n strengths
I hope he is
In one way i hope Jones is over-looking Rampage .. but then it would be Rampage vs. Evans for the title. I really want to see these 2 (Jones, Evans) guys fight.
Tough one.
He definitely referred to Rashad as a "friend and teammate" in more than one interview. Either he's lying now or he was before.
He's not literally denying that they were friends at one point, rather he is implying that Rashad was only pretending to be his friend.
The phrase "He was never my friend" is not typically used in a literal sense, not sure why you are taking it literally lol.
So I was trying to look up the video in question to see exactly what Jones said about fighting Rashad to see if what he's saying is true or not...
You can see on his twitter he asked if anyone could find the full interview. Two different people responded with links, but the videos in the link were already taken down since then?
Interesting... I'm wondering if the interviews are being taken down to keep the truth from coming out and keeping the "Rivalry hype" going?
The full video is still on MSN. In the full video, Ariel asks what are you going to do when it comes to Rashad, his words:
"It's Dana's world when your a UFC fighter and we live in it, so you know I respect Dana a lot, if that's what he absolutely wanted to happen then I guess thats what would have to happen. Me and Rashad would not want to get fired over the situation, but it would be majorly awkward for us. Rashad and I have a lot in common, we're both young african american men with families, we both like to sing and have fun, we're both elite MMA fighters, we have a lot in common and we really clicked really well. There's just so many MMA fighters that we could compete against, and we're not animals - we're friends, human beings, I just would hate to have to fight my own team mate. I would never want to."
Ariel then asked "Have you and Rashad talked about it?"
Jones's response: "Yeah we talked about it. What Rashad said was when people have it in their mind and heart not to do something then the universe will come up with something for us to make it not happen. It happened with him a lot of times with Keith Jardine, there has been so many times him and Keith were on the verge of fighting each other and somehow - this guy got injured, he has to replace someone, so as long as me and him both know that we truly dont want to eachother, I think it just wont happen."
So by that, he definitely did express that he didnt want to fight him.
Assuming that this was all that was said about the issue, then Rashad actually was the first one to change his mind from "both of us knowing that we truly don't want to fight each other".
Good job finding the interview. I did remember Jones did not say anything wrong.
Its possible that Rashad became close friend with Jones to keep him away from the belt as long as possible.
Jones was a young and talented LHW prospect when he joined Jacksons, Rashad's first reaction could have been to feel threatened a bit.
He decided to welcome him (something Sanchez refused to do when GSP joined Jacksons) and became super friends so the kid would not fight him and wait politely for his turn assuming Rashad has the belt back. He is young and can wait afterall.
Unfortunately for him, Jones had the opportunity first, got the belt and now rashad doesn't wanna be the traitor wanting to fight his partner for the belt so he takes the opportunity to create a feud by overeacting to jones's statement.
That's what Jones is probably thinking now...or maybe i think too much lol Maybe Shad didn't want to fight Jones not cos of the teamates thing but because he knew from the start it would be a tough fight he could loose. He has no choice now.
Yeah. Fighters usually have to light a fire under themselves and start a rivalry in their own mind and feel betrayed to be able to fight someone they once considered a friend. Similar to Belfort/Silva.
It seems both fighters are fueling themselves with betrayal at this point.
Or, maybe the "secret" Rashad knows on how to defeat Jones, is to get in his head since he is relatively inexperienced in comparison.
Rashad is capable of getting in Jones's head far better than anyone else he has faced before since he actually knows him well. He could be intentionally doing this to throw him off his game, similar to how Chael or the old Tito did.
thats quite an imagination you got there, i dont mean that in a bad way
But i dont believe that was the case, they were friends real friends
they got in an awkward situation and things change
Rashad was the No.1 Contender and Jones took his place because Rampage couldnt vs Shogun next thing you know Jones is the Champion and Rashad is still the No.1 contender
Jones is not as humble as he try to convince us
he says he is a christian but getting tattoo is against their believes
even if it is a phrase from the bible, so hes not that christian
i don't dislike him but he seems to be getting caught in the fame and money , i really like him as a fighter ever
since he made his UFC debut i was amaze he was not getting more attention and then he jump to the top in a matter of months
bottom line is they will fight if Jones beats Rampage to
prove who is the best regardless of their personal issues
and if Rampage wins then is also a win for the fans Rampage vs Rashad II the rematch would be awesome as well.
how are tattoos against christian beliefs?
Yeah Rigo sorry dude you're way off base. The rules against tattooing were Old Testament dogma that the second covenant (the time of Jesus) changed, one of the rule changes after Jesus died. That's why Jewish people still recognise that rule as valid, it is against their rules to be tattooed and most of them take it pretty seriously. Christians on the other hand don't, in the same way that Christians no longer follow the dietary restrictions of the Old Testament preventing mixing of dairy and meats, or the eating of pigs or shellfish - tattoos aren't Kosher, but Christians don't follow those rules anymore.
So what you're trying to say is..... they're NOT Christians anymore!
Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:28
I'm not religious. I've been exposed to the bible regularly in the past. If you are a Real Christian then you obey/follow the word of the bible. If not, you're not a real Christian. I think it's simple but people like to claim their religion but do it their own way.
However, people have gotten Tattoo's & converted to Christianity. That's different as they didn't believe it to be wrong. But going against it because you believe it's stupid is just silly. Why claim you're still a Christian?
Not good to talk about religion anyway. Everyone is right & everyone else is wrong :D
Leviticus = Old Testament, I know the verses and I know the rules Christians recognise as having changed, "real" Christians. Christians don't follow kosher-style food restrictions either, the Old Testament is followed differently than the New.
Yeah as good as Jones looks fighting he is still a possibly emotional 24 year old fighter with less experience. We will see.
A lot of fans say that Jones was ducking Rashad but i think he and his camp tried to buy some more time. If he fights his teamate who knows all his tricks,its better to learn new stuff, improve and be a different guy in order to surprise rashad.
most of jones responses are always written i would like to see a video talking like this so i see his demeanor and see if he actually means
Look on his twitter. You will find a MSN link of the full interview. If you scroll up a little bit you will see a transcript I wrote up of the interview.
It really shows poor class by Jones to comment at all on Rashads fight with Tito and it really makes Jones look like a stubborn child.
I do think it would be good for Jones in the long term to get a beating by either Rampage or Rashad as he really could use a big slice of humble pie right now.
i would be surprised if this ****y snitch **** had any friends.
I really hope Bones is looking past Rampage because that would be his down fall, Rampage may not be one of the quickest bus he can take a lot of punishment and sure as hell is one of the most powerful fighter out there, i also think his striking defence is awesome too, the way he covers and rolls with the punches. Rampage CAN do this man, if the right Rampage shows up, one thing's for sure, he wont be intimidated by Bones at all. Don't get me wrong Bones is dangerous for sure and is just as capable of winning this fight, he will also be the favourite going in but that means nothing to Rampage. I really hope Rampage comes in on form and we see Bones get KTFO........
From what i've read and heard from both fighters i think the betrayal squarely lies with Bones not Rashad, we can never TRULY know but that's what i think, i'm a bit dissapointed with Jacksons behaviour too to be honest. When Rashad was at Jacksons before Bones came along he was one of Gregs star students. Then it's like, Bones comes along, tearing through everyone so Greg starts giving him all the attention and pushes Rashad onto the back burner, even more so after Bones won the belt. That's got to suck from Rashads point of view. I think these two are going to fight at some point regardless what happens with Rampage and Bones. Rashad has a better chance than Rampage of beating Jones IMO as he possess' the same KO power but also has the speed to deliver it, as well as having an insight into Bones style having trained with him, though that works both ways.......we'll see what happens......
Just curious, what point was Rashad first betrayed by Jones in your opinion?
Going over the interview in question, things were pretty much left at "As long as we both dont want to fight each other I dont think it will happen", and after the interview it seems Rashad was the first to change his mind on that unless I missed something?
they both agreed at Jacksons that they wouldn't fight each other, period, then in an interview Bones was asked if he would fight Rashad and Bones said, he wouldn't want to but if Dana asked him he would because he wouldn't want to lose his job or anything over it. So really he was the first one to break their agreement, it's that simple really IMO...
I like jones but I wanna see that chin tested. As good as he is, I don't think he can take a punch as well as he can bounce around the ring. His height, reach, and speed make him as dangerous as he is, but he hasn't fought anyone that covers distance that well. The best was shogun and he looked out of shape when they fought. Jones and Rampage is gonna go all the way and Jones will get the nod for making rampage look slow. And then he's got a super hungry Rashad and an eager Lyoto to deal with. Both of whom have the potential and the speed to leap in past his reach of Jones and land something he never felt before. Again, I like Jones but I think his inexperience is going to make his first loss to Rashad or Lyoto a dramatic one.
Whilst I think Rampage is as good as he has been in a LONGGGGGGG time, I am not sure it will be enough for Bones. And assuming that is correct, I expect Jones to annihilate Evans, which not many have ever done, but I think Jones will be out to prove a point.