After waiting an eternity, Rashad Evans will have the chance to regain the UFC light heavyweight title sometime in 2011. Fellow light heavyweight Jon Jones is on the fast track. Two more wins for the 24-year-old and fans will be howling for him to get a shot. But the UFC may have another problem on its hands with fighters from the same camp not wanting to square off. Jones said the friendship between he and Evans, who both train at Jackson's Submission Fighting in New Mexico, has a deeper connection.

"Not that it has anything to do with race, but we're both African-American guys and we're fighters. We've got a lot of similarities between family and all this other type of stuff," Jones told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Jones (11-1, 6-1 UFC) is right there aren't a lot of African-Americans fighting at the highest level. It's part of the reason he chose to go so far away from home in Albuquerque. Aside from the chance to work with a guru like Greg Jackson, he saw a guy who came from the same background in Evans.

"Rashad's a unique character to me. There's not many guys that I can relate to like Rashad, and preparing to do physical damage to him just doesn't add up to me," said Jones.

Much like AKA teammates Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch, who may be faced with a similar decision if Koscheck upsets Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight title, Jones says he and Evans are too tight to fight.

"Fighting Rashad is the last thing I'd ever want to do," Jones said. "To me, being able to call Rashad when we're 40 years old and say, 'Let's go fishing,' or something like that, that's more important than the paycheck we would get today. I train with the guy. We've had conversations about personal things."

This is a mounting issue for UFC matchmakers. Dana White is digging in on his stance. He doesn't understand why teammates won't fight each other and last week he think said they're afraid to lose a buddy.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewr ... &width=850

As much as I don't like it, from a fighter's point of view it makes sense. What doesn't make sense is Condit saying he would fight GSP. Basically he's spitting in JAckson's face and everyone who welcomed him in. If I was him, I would throw his ass out of the gym.
As much as I don't like B.J., it's like he said. These guys say oh, your my hero, blah, blah, I wanna train with you, then the UFC offers them a fight and all of a sudden they think they can use what they learned from you against you, which doesn't work. All it does it make top guys weary of letting new guys in.

Dana already made his own solution with Fitch and Kos. He loves Kos, so he bends over backwards for him and Fitch he can't stand for many reason, none valid, but basically he takes all of his frustration out on Fitch as if he were the red-headed stepchild. Hell, if Dana had his way, Fitch would have been fired already for not being stupid enough to sign away his likeness to Dana's ufc game. Fitch won't get a title shot any time soon thanks to Dana, but screw Dana, unless he was paying Fitch 200K+ just to show to fight Kos (if he actually could beat GSP), it's not worth it. Hell, I think Fitch would even turn down 200K, although I KNOW Kos would take it.

If anyone who trained at another camp didn't fight anyone from that camp that would eliminate many match-ups. I can understand guys that have been training together for 4-5+ years that's different. I don't see why someone should give up a shot at the title, their ultimate goal and reason for competing, just because they trained in the same camp for a while.

Would have to agree with Johnny on that one. Plus the fact that Jackson
has 3 diff camps pretty far apart, i don't see it being a problem for a guy from albuquerque fight a guy from the tristar gym. I know they swap training partners around but the close bonds will be forged in each gym.

When you train at the same camp you allready know who is the better fighter

so basicly you can asume that the person who tells he won't fight his teammate is the better fighter.

and if somebody likes condit tells he will fight GSP he knows GSP is better, so there is no love lost in stating that statement.

Dana White is right in saying that they want to protect their friendships,
but he isnt right in saying that they should fight cause it's all about the competition,
teammates allready know were they stand with respect to eachother.

this is just my opinion,
and of course there are exeptions (Tito, but Tito is just Tito )

Im with Dana all the way.

You're paid large sums of money to fight. Its your job.
You train day in day out for years on end to become the best.
I hear the argument about not wanting to fight team-mates, I just dont agree with it.

Is there anybody here who trains in any form of fighting himself,
and would have no problem with fighting in a match against a gymmember whom you beat in sparring/randori/whatever all the time?