UFC president Dana White went on a lengthy rant during a media conference call yesterday, blaming light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his coach for forcing the company to cancel UFC 151.
Challenger Dan Henderson had to pull out of the main event against Jones with a partially torn MCL and Jones refused to face Chael Sonnen on nine days’ notice, White said. Because the company could not find a suitable main event at the 11th hour, it was decided that UFC 151, which was supposed to take place Sept. 1 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, would be canceled outright.
It’s the first time in the 11 years that Zuffa has owned the UFC that an event had to be scrapped.
White said he and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta were “disgusted” by Jones turning down the fight, especially because Jones knew the entire card was hanging in the balance.
“We’ve never ever had a fighter refuse to fight a guy,” White said. “Every day crazy [expletive] happens, here’s a new crazy one for us.”
It was Jones’ trainer, Greg Jackson, who advised the fighter to turn down the Sonnen clash, saying, according to White, that it would be “the worst mistake” of Jones’ career. White called Jackson “a sport killer” and that he “should never be interviewed by anybody ever again except by a psychiatrist.”
White ripped Jones further for not taking into account how his decision might affect his peers.
“There’s a bunch of guys on the undercard, this is how they feed their family,” White said. “This is how they make a living. … This is one of those selfish, disgusting decisions that just doesn’t affect you.”
mraimondi@nypost.com