Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier won't be punished for the altercation that arose during a media event to promote their upcoming fight. Both fighters are injured, which means the match has been delayed until January. But what's interesting is that their pre-fight throw down is being blamed on the UFC and not Jones and Cormier. President Dana White took responsibility for the scuffle, saying he wasn't there and left an inexperienced mediator to handle their media.
Dave Sholler, Director of Public Relations for the UFC, was presiding over the event instead of Dana White. When a fight broke out between Jones and Cormier, Sholler was apparently in over his head (via Press Connects):
"'You want my personal opinion? Our bad. It's our bad,' White said last week. 'These guys are fighters. They're two of the baddest dudes on the planet. They're going face-to-face to stare off. We have to make sure that doesn't happen and shouldn't happen, but it did.'"
Given the intensely personal nature of the rivalry between Jones and Cormier, some fight experts are hoping that the hype doesn't die down just because of the delay. Though their bout is now five months away, hopefully they will still be dying to tear each other apart, and fight fans will still care (via Bleacher Report):
"If anything, the parties involved should use this time to further escalate the tensions. Don't let it all boil away like it was never substantive in the first place, then conveniently pick it up when the fight date gets closer again and both sides have consented to restarting verbal volleys. No one enjoys that, and it makes the dislike (real or not) less credible. So instead, it should be full steam ahead."
What do you think?
Tell us your thoughts in the comment field below.
