*This content was translated by AI.
Suspicions over the failure of heavyweight champion John Jones (38, USA), dubbed the best player of all time (GOAT), to participate in the UFC White House match are being marred by a battle of truth. UFC President Dana White drew a line by raising rumors of Jones' retirement, but Jones countered this head-on.
The U.S. media 'New York Post' said on the 9th (Korea Standard Time), "Jones was angry at Chairman White's claim," adding, "He has already posted a rebuttal on personal social networking services (SNS), but it has now been deleted. It was a shocking revelation," he reported.
Chairman White said at a press conference after the UFC White House match lineup was confirmed, "I didn't have a single 100,000 thought to have Jones play in the White House," adding, "Jones is retired because of osteoarthritis. Some doctors say that they need to undergo hip replacement surgery because they cannot even run properly," he claimed.
In particular, Chairman White slammed Jones' claim that Jones had negotiated his participation in the White House match, saying, "I've already sent a text message to Jones' lawyer saying no, but I'm talking about negotiating."
Jones exploded at Chairman White's remarks. "Do you want me to publicly admit that this entire negotiation process was a pure lie?" he said on social media. "If I prove what he said wrong, am I wrong?" he said, suggesting that actual negotiations have been exchanged with Chairman White.
As such, Jones expressed deep dissatisfaction with the process of excluding the White House match. Originally, the UFC reportedly pushed for a heavyweight match between Jones and Alex Pereira, but Pereira's opponent was finally confirmed as Cyril Gane.
The unprecedented UFC White House match commemorating the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence and President Donald Trump's 80th birthday has been unveiled, but fans' reactions are cold. This is because big stars such as John Jones and Conor McGregor (37, Ireland) are missing, overshadowing the huge $60 million (about 88 billion won).
According to USA Today and others, President Trump was confident that "it will be a large event like never before." However, this tournament has been criticized for being a meaningless match.
According to the officially announced match, the main event is a lightweight integrated title match between Ilya Topuria and Justin Gaic. The Comain event is a temporary heavyweight title match between Pereira and Gane.
As a result, fans cannot hide their disappointment through SNS, saying, "Where did Jones go?" and "There is no McGregor." Chairman White worked hard to maintain security by even erasing the whiteboard, but the result is less than expected.
"If Jones actually retires, he will end his career as one of the best players in mixed martial arts history despite numerous controversies outside the Octagon," the New York Post added.
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*This content was translated by AI.
