Jones and Cormier fought during a promotional event in Las Vegas. Photo: Reproduction
A great deal of confusion took over the sports news at the beginning of last week. Jon Jones e Daniel Cormier, who will fight next for the UFC light heavyweight belt, got into an ugly fight during a press conference held in Las Vegas (USA). The organization's president, Dana White, was traveling on vacation during the incident, and, this Friday (15), spoke out for the first time about the episode.
In an interview with the UFC's official website, White stated that, if he had been the mediator of the fights (as usually happens), he would have already intervened because he felt that the atmosphere between Jones and Cormier was tense. “As soon as Jones approached and their bodies touched, I would have separated them. Sometimes you see me putting my hand in the middle, or sometimes doing even more than that. I would have separated them. It was a headbutt, Jones headbutted Cormier – that's what upset him and made him push him. I would have put my arm in the middle before there was contact. I would have predicted the contact and stopped it. Would I have prevented all that from happening? I don't know, who knows? I wasn’t there”, said the leader.
As White was absent, the mediator of the fights was UFC public relations director, Dave Sholler. The president believes that Sholler did not have the experience to be able to do anything to break up the fight. “Dave Sholler doesn't have the experience to be among the guys. There are times when you feel like there is something going on and you are ready to let it go. That's why I stay there. I don't stay there because I want to be in the photos, I stay there to make sure this kind of crap doesn't happen. These are two guys who are going to fight, and there is definitely a ton of animosity between the two, without a doubt,” he considered.
The fight between Jones and Cormier was originally scheduled for September 27th, at UFC 178. However, the champion suffered a knee injury, postponing the fight until January 3rd.
Watch the video of the confusion:
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