Jon Jones Admits Small Regret Over Skipping the White House Card

Jon Jones says sitting out the UFC's White House card is one of the few regrets he has. Talking with Nick Turturro at his new Prince Street Pizza business, Jones said the choice not to fight was his own, even though the negotiations had not gone his way.

“Honestly, there was a little bit of contract negotiation that didn’t go my way,” Jones said. “Dana is the absolute man, that’s the boss, and sometimes you and the boss aren’t gonna always agree. Business is business.”

His tone is a lot calmer than it was when the talks broke down. Back then, Jones accused the UFC of low-balling him and asked to be released.

Watching from home

Jones said fight night itself changed how he felt. Seeing the fighters walk out alongside war heroes, coming out from the Oval Office with Trump there, was “one of the few times in my life where I just knew I should not be home on this night. I should have been out there.”

He described himself as a proud American and a fan of the military and law enforcement, and said missing the chance to salute them that night as one of the country's top fighters is “one of my small regrets that I have to live with forever.”

“It was my decision, I could’ve fought,” Jones said. “We just couldn’t come up to an agreement.”

Topuria and Cormier

Asked which current fighters excite him, Jones answered straight away: Ilia Topuria. Before the White House card, he said, he saw Topuria as “invincible” and as the first real threat to his standing as the greatest of all time. Topuria then lost to Justin Gaethje at the June event.

Jones admitted to mixed feelings about that. He wants others to come along and beat his records, yet part of him wants to hold onto them “for my kid’s sake and my family’s honor.” He still spoke warmly of Topuria, noting that he comes from a successful family, does not need the money and fights out of love. “He’s doing all the right things. His recovery, all of it, he’s a guy who deserves to win,” Jones said.

The one man Jones said came close to the GOAT title was Daniel Cormier. “I feel as if we weren’t part of the same era, I think he would have been considered one of the greatest fighters, if not the greatest fighter of all time,” he said.

Source: MMA Mania