bones turned down lil nog fight

http://www.cagepotato.com/tidbit-day-jon-jones-turned-down-fight-lil-nog-ufc-114

Kevin Iole reveals in latest Yahoo!Sports mailbag that up-and-coming UFC light heavyweight star John Jones declined a slot on the upcoming UFC 114 card as a fill-in for Forrest Griffin against Antônio Rogério Nogueira because he didn't feel that one month was enough time to prepare for the fight. Jones explained that he hadn't been in the gym since his win over Brandon Vera a month and a half ago at UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones in Broomfield, Conn.

Now I'm not saying his excuses aren't legitimate, but I don't see a training camp being two weeks shorter than usual for a guy who walked away from his last fight still in shape and unscathed being to the detriment of a fighter of Jones' caliber. Jason Brilz seemed pretty eager to step up to the challenge in spite of the short notice. Just sayin'.

Maybe hearing that Shogun fought and won the UFC light heavyweight title seven weeks after undergoing surgery to remove his appendix has jaded me a bit.

Brilz and Jones are in two completely different situations

That's smart enough. You want every minute to plan and train for a level of opponent like Rogerio.

I think Jones did the right thing. For a young fighters like him you need everything to be as perfect as possible if you are going to take on a guy on the level of lil Nog.

Yeah, can't blame him... He's on the way up with a ton of promise, why interrupt it by taking a guy like Lil Nog on short notice? Brilz didn't turn it down because he's not getting offers for high profile fights like this and it's a chance to catapult him if he somehow pulls something off...

I wouldn't want to fight a Nog with a month warning either. It would be a war

LikesToFightGuy wrote:

Yeah, can't blame him... He's on the way up with a ton of promise, why interrupt it by taking a guy like Lil Nog on short notice? Brilz didn't turn it down because he's not getting offers for high profile fights like this and it's a chance to catapult him if he somehow pulls something off...

agreed

Yea you dont take a fight with a world class fighter like Lil Nog without a full training camp. It was smart to decline the offer.

I don't have a problem with him turning it down. He has to do what's best for his career. He needs a full training camp before a step up in competition like that.

Can't fault him, but it would have really impressed me if he stepped up. Plus it would have fast tracked him to a title shot after Shad/Page

Yeah I know he wouldnt have had a full training camp but Im not so sure he wanted this fight anyways. Lil Nog came over and destroyed another young guy with some promise and maybe Bones didnt want to end up like that.

from Bones perspective - very smart dont rush into this

from the fans perspective - damn that sucks

Luiz Cane was last years Jon Jones. Little Nog smacked the snot out of him. Jones not being in the gym for a month and a half straight at this point in his career is troubling.

Maybe he is more like Brandon Vera than we even realize.

Jones turning the fight down sucks but this aint Pride and fighters get used to long camps these days. Koscheck took the Alves fight on short notice and it has taken him years to get back into contention after the loss(however a KTFO by Paulo also played a part)

i honestly wasnt high on cane

I thought Cane was a future champion and still think he might be.

i agree Cane is a good fighter. There is no shame in losing to Lil Nog. He'll be back.

He looked funny that night. His defense was fantastic against Cantwell, his hands were in position the entire time and he was a shell half the time. In the Minotoro fight he left his face wide open to a counter. He seemed sluggish too.

He did look extremely sluggish that night

See if I was a fighter, I would be trying my best to stay in shape outside the octagon all year round. I would also be going back to gyms to perfect my skills and learn knew techniques.

I am not bashing Jones for his decision, I would rather Jon just said he's still a prospect and a Lil Nog fight would be too much right now.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Luiz Cane was last years Jon Jones. Little Nog smacked the snot out of him. Jones not being in the gym for a month and a half straight at this point in his career is troubling.
Maybe he is more like Brandon Vera than we even realize.

Jones turning the fight down sucks but this aint Pride and fighters get used to long camps these days. Koscheck took the Alves fight on short notice and it has taken him years to get back into contention after the loss(however a KTFO by Paulo also played a part)

Agree, I find it hard to believe that he hasn't trained for that long. Maybe a good ass kicking is what he needs.

Cane was/is good. I think Bones has looked alot better though. I agree with you guys. No shame in taking a pass on this right now. He will get there.

KingsOwn19 wrote:

lol

He claimed on his Twitter that he didn't turn it down.

Did he say anything about not training for a month? The Janitor liable to beat that ass taking that kind of approach.