Why don't we add yet another layer to this feud, shall we?
In addition to defending his light heavyweight championship against Rashad Evans at UFC 145 on Sat., April 21, 2012, at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, Jon Jones will also be defending the honor of the gym he's pledged his allegiance to, Greg Jackson's down in New Mexico.
Yes, really. Here's how he told it to Sherdog.com:
"One part that is kind of there, I kind of feel like I'm defending kind of like the honor of this team. Rashad's been badmouthing this team and really calling our team cliche and commercial and just really badmouthing Greg and our program's loyalty and everything like that. I think he kind of has it all twisted in his own head, feeling as if people betrayed him. And, really, this is a family here and it's the same program that it's always been. Yeah, he's been here longer than me but he doesn't realize how much a family this team still is. There's more people on this team than just the UFC fighters. We start from kids, to kids with no money, to kids who can't speak English, there's a whole family here. I'm here to defend this family and to defend everything he's kind of said about us. I feel like me beating him solidifies that this is a program that's going to live without him."
That takes the cake, doesn't it?
Evans, of course, used to be a card-carrying member of Team Jackson, even reaching the pinnacle of the sport with a championship victory under Jackson's tutelage back in 2008. But that all started to fall apart when Jones showed up and has eventually led to this impasse, with "Suga" and "Bones" about to beat each other senseless inside a cage.
That should settle things rather quickly.
Hear more from Jones on his upcoming title defense against his former teammate after the jump.