Jones, White still don’t get along, at all

UFC president Dana White had a relationship so bad with Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz that he once quipped that they needed marriage counseling. Other champions, like Ronda Rousey and Chuck Liddell are friends. Regardless, all of them made money for all of them.

White and former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones are not friends. Very early in Jones’ career, White mused that the only person who could beat him is himself, and that is indeed how the belt was lost. Then Jones was pulled from a planned fight with Cormier just three days prior to UFC 200 due to a tainted bootleg erectile dysfunction drug, and the two have not communicated since.

Jon Jones and I still haven’t talked since the last time he pulled out of UFC 200, said White recently to ESPN, as transcribed by Tom Ngo for 5thround.com. I wasn’t happy with him and what happened with him falling out of UFC 200. I feel like we’ve been there for the guy every time he’s had a problem, and for him to do that at UFC 200, I was just… I was not happy.

But we don’t have to talk for him to come back and do what he’s going to try to do on Saturday night, we don’t have to talk. I’m not mad at him anymore like I was before, but we’ll see how this thing plays out. I mean, if he doesn’t show up for this one, that’s going be whole other ball game, but I’m cool with Jon Jones right now.

During the UFC 214 pre-fight press conference on Wednesday, Jones appeared to be not cool with White.

Dana White has reached out to me on at least four occasions, and I haven’t answered any of his calls or any of his text messages — that’s the reason we haven’t spoken, said Jones, as transcribed by Lance Pugmire for the LA Times.

I just feel like when you’re making the company money and you’re a pay-per-view draw and you’re ultimately putting money in his pocket, then you mean a lot to him.”

The moment you aren’t those things, you mean nothing to him, and he’s done a decent job of showing that. I felt completely abandoned by him … in a situation when I needed him the most.

I feel like he’s shown me his true colors, and now I have no desire to pretend like he cares about me or that we’re friends.”

Unless he has something real pressing to talk to me about, I’d rather just talk to [UFC parent company WME-IMG boss] Ari Emanuel. As of now, I look at Ari as my boss and as Dana as more the face and the voice of UFC.

Pugmire reached out to White for comment.

“Sounds like something he and I will eventually have to straighten out,” texted White.