Apr 21, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Jon Jones reacts to beating Rashad Evans in the main event and light heavyweight title bout during UFC 145 at Philips Arena. Jon Jones won the bout by unanimous decision. Mandatory Credit: Paul Abell-US PRESSWIRE
Yesterday on Inside MMA, UFC president Dana White said he would talk to UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones in Toronto ahead of UFC 152 to clear up their differences regarding the fallout from UFC 151. On a UFC 152 conference call today, Jones basically said the same thing. He wasn't about to back down though, and still defended his side of things in terms of turning down a bout with Chael Sonnen:
(transcribed by MMA Fighting):
"You know what? I'm over it," he said on a Tuesday teleconference. "I really am. I'm actually getting more and more excited to talk to Dana and get this behind us. The UFC is an awesome brand but in this situation I had to stand up for myself and do what was right. But at the same time, me holding a personal beef against Dana gets me nowhere. He's still my boss at the end of the day and he has every right to express how he feels. He has freedom of speech.
"I said some things about the way I feel about how Dana handled the situation," he continued." I also think the fans are kind of using their minds a little bit and realizing it truly wasn't my fault. That I'm not a UFC executive. Dan Henderson got hurt, that's what happened. They asked me to put my livelihood on the line, to put my belt on the line. I turned it down like many smart champions would. Think about it: Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. If Pacquiao gets hurt, you think he would fight [Miguel] Cotto last minute? No. No one would've done it. No one. And the guys who say they would've done it? They're not me, I guess. But anyways, I'm over it. I'm ready to move forward. I think me and Dana being on the same team -- me being on the same team as the UFC and not being one of these nemesis-type athletes -- is going to get us very far. Me as an individual athlete and the UFC in having a mainstream athlete, a guy that's trying to break down walls to mainstream America. I can't do that having a problem with the UFC. So I'm totally over it, ready to talk to Dana and get past this."
Jones will be meeting Vitor Belfort in the main event of UFC 152. You can catch the full audio from today's UFC 152 conference call after the jump.
SBN coverage of UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort


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