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Greg Jackson likely cornering Jon Jones for Rashad Evans fight at UFC 145

Greg Jackson (left) with Jon Jones (middle).
Greg Jackson (left) with Jon Jones (middle).

In this latest edition of Ultimate High School Championship, famed MMA trainer Greg Jackson is now thinking he should be in Jon Jones' corner when he defends his light heavyweight title against Rashad Evans at UFC 145 on April 21 in Atlanta.

He had previously stated he was going to wash his hands of the entire ordeal because the two fighters are former training partners and friends, a bond broken by the lust for gold and the promise of dreams realized.

Oh how quickly things can change.

Now, Jackson is going back and forth on whether or not to corner Jones because it would be an official show of support for him over Evans, a man Jackson still considers a friend. Because, you see, these are the important issues in MMA. Here's the explanation given to the Savage Dog Show:

"I'm going back and forth now because I have to think about what it means to be on a team. Are we just a collection of friends that train together? For me, it's much more than that. It means something to be on this team and it means something to have teammates. Rashad kind of left that. I don't know, I'm leaning toward cornering Jon right now. Just because, am I selfish, am I going to make this about me? Or am I gonna make this about the team? I can't be self-centered. Even though it's something that I don't want to do, it might end up that way."

This story is a long one with many twists and turns but here's a short refresher course:

After Jones accepted a light heavyweight title fight against Mauricio Rua in the place of Evans, he was asked by Ariel Helwani about a potential fight against his then teammate.

And he said he would do it. He wouldn't like it but he would do it if that's what UFC President Dana White wanted.

Caught off guard by this, Evans felt the need to respond in kind, letting the world know that he "ain't no punk" and if Jones were to win the title and he was given the first crack then it would be on like Donkey Kong.

That's exactly what happened and it wasn't long before words were exchanged, a heated confrontation took place at a night club, and the media had a field day going back and forth between the two.

However, through injuries, bad timing and even worse luck, it's taken over a year to put the fight together. Jones went on to defend his belt twice in two dominant performances and Evans took care of business in his two bouts to get back to where we started at.

Jones vs. Evans for the light heavyweight crown and all the bragging rights in the world.

Where Jackson comes in is that he was caught in the middle during this entire ordeal. After all, he's the man who helped train Evans to become a champion in 2008 with Evans in turn helping make Jackson's gym in New Mexico a hotbed for budding mixed martial artists to train.

Men like "Bones" Jones.

When Jackson helped the young phenom win a title, it was reminiscent of how he did the same with Rashad. So when the two were matched up, Jackson, like a parent being asked to choose between two children, didn't know what to do.

Evans, it seems, has made his decision easier by leaving camp and saying nothing positive since he left while Jones has remained as loyal as can be. Hence, Jackson leaning towards cornering Jones on April 21 in Atlanta.

Got all that?

Now let's hear your opinion on whether or not it's right for Jackson to corner Jones.

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