Jackson disagrees with Jones/Evans fight
“I love Rashad to death,” he told MMA Fighting this week. “I’m not sure why he’s angry at me. I…
“I love Rashad to death,” he told MMA Fighting this week. “I’m not sure why he’s angry at me. I guess I can see from a perspective, that isn’t really the way it is, why he’s angry, but I don’t have any animosity towards him. I’ve always tried to help him out. I was with him right after he won that reality show all the way to his world title. I’m not sure what it is.”
To hear Evans tell it, Jackson brought Jones on the team against Evans’ wishes, thus opening the door for the current teammate-versus-teammate title fight and a splintering within the Jackson squad. Only that’s not how Jackson remembers it at all.
“The thing with Rashad is, he said he was okay with Jon coming on the team. I felt that Jon did the wrong thing by saying he would fight Rashad. But once they signed to fight, I’m staying out of it. I’m not choosing Rashad over Jon Jones or Jon Jones over Rashad; I’m staying out of the entire thing. Everybody signed on to [Jon] being on the team. It wasn’t like I brought him on with these evil intentions. I bring a lot of training partners on to the team who are in the same weight class. For instance, Donald Cerrone, Melvin Guillard, Clay Guida – all these guys are in the same division.”
What really bothers Jackson is the perception that he abandoned Evans for Jones, or that he’s looking to trade in his older fighters for the younger prospects with brighter futures.
“There’s a lot of people I’ve turned away, and that goes to more evidence that Jon was welcome on the team,” he said. “Because there have been some incredible fighters – and I’m not going to name names – but incredible fighters who I’ve had to say no to. If I was all about the bigger, better deal, which some people might think, I would take those guys on. But I didn’t because everyone has to be okay with it, and they weren’t. I’m very careful about how I do that.”
That’s why it’s so difficult to have Evans lay the blame for the current situation entirely at his door, Jackson said. The more he hears that it was all his fault, the more he wonders what he could have done differently. Jackson hasn’t found many answers to that question, so he’s chosen to do the only thing that makes sense to him now: stay out of it altogether.
“I’m not sure what it is. Maybe [it ‘s the situation], but Rashad is coming straight at me, [saying] ‘Greg Jackson did this and Greg Jackson did that.’ I’m the one that’s not choosing. I’m staying neutral. I’m not going to tell you you can’t fight. You’re both grown-ass men. I’m not the boss of either of you, and I’m not your dad.”