UFC President Dana White is livid at Jon Jones following the light heavyweight champ's decision to turn down a short-notice fight with Chael Sonnen for UFC 151.

Although Jones now has been shifted to UFC 152 opposite ex-champ Lyoto Machida, White thinks his relationship with the fighter may never be the same, to say nothing of the fighter's relationship to fans.

"As much as as he's won, and all the things that he's accomplished in a short amount of time … he's been a champion that hasn't been very popular," White said today. "I don't think this is going to do wonders for his popularity."

White's comments came moments after he announced the cancellation of UFC 151, which was scheduled to take place Sept. 1 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and air live on pay-per-view. Jones (16-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) originally was scheduled to face Dan Henderson (29-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC) before a knee injury forced Henderson to withdraw from the event and forced White's hand.

With the decision to cancel having come just one hour prior to a media teleconference, White's emotions were still raw.

"Me and (UFC executive) Lorenzo (Fertitta) are disgusted," he said.

White was still piecing through the financial repercussions of the decision, but said fans who bought tickets to the event will be issued refunds. As for those who purchased plane tickets and hotel rooms to see the fight, he hoped they could get a refund or divert their trips to UFC 152.

The remaining fallout, in terms of losses in pay-per-view revenue and advertising dollars, could not be measured. White, however, said they were "huge."

White also could not explain why Jones, who sits in the No. 2 spot of most pound-for-pound lists, turned down the fight with Sonnen.

"I don't know why a guy who was a world champion and considered by many to be the pound-for-pound best wouldn't fight anybody," he said. "It's baffling to me. I've never seen it before."

And while Jones' decision enraged him, White clarified that he had no way of contractually forcing the champ to fight.

"Being a fight promoter, and being in the business that we're in, you can't make somebody fight," he said. "I can't make you fight. You're either a fighter, or you're not. This is what we all do for a living. I have a building here in Las Vegas that 250 people have been busting their ass, working hard, to promote this fight. Not just for Jon Jones, but for everyone on this card.

"You know what? Good for you Jon Jones. You're rich and you've got some money, and you don't need to take this fight. But there's a bunch of guys on the undercard that this is how they feed their family, and this is how they make a living. And the UFC has spent [expletive] of money to promote this fight.

"I can't make you fight, but it's probably not a good idea to not do it."




Source: Dana White 'disgusted' with champ Jon Jones' turndown of Chael Sonnen for UFC 151