"Jon Jones' coaches told him not to" - Dana White clarifies Islam Makhachev's statements on 'Bones,' applauds modern MMA trainers

Islam Makhachev recently brought up Jon Jones' unwillingness to take a short notice bout against Chael Sonnen in the past. Makhachev did so in order to suggest that a real champion should take on all comers, irrespective of circumstance.

He was asked to clarify these comments at the UFC 294 press conference, and was asked if he thought he could match Jon Jones' accomplishments in the sport, to which Makhachev said:

"New belt, new opponents, I will beat everyone. I will beat everyone."

At that point, UFC boss Dana White jumped in and said:

"Just to talk about that too, when you talk about Jon Jones at the time when that happened, that's the other thing about this sport right now, not just the fighters who are ready to step up right now, but the coaches. A lot of fighters, these guys go to their coaches and their coaching staff and say, you know, we're being offered this fight on short notice. Jon Jones' coaches told him not to do it. The coaches that are involved in the game now, here today, are behind them 100% in saying we believe we're the best in the world, let's do it."

White lauded MMA fighters and trainers of today, and commended them for backing their athlete. Kamaru Usman, who also accepted a short notice fight against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294, previously stated that he asked his coaches if he should take the fight, and that they expressed their confidence in him and their support.

Check out the clip here (19:00 for White's comments):

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Jon Jones set to make first defence of UFC heavyweight title at UFC 295, calls it his "retirement fight"

Jones' comeback to the UFC saw him submitting Ciryl Gane in the very first round to capture heavyweight gold. In his first defence, he will face Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in Madison Square Garden.

Jones took to X (formerly Twitter) to term the fight his 'retirement fight,' and gave his thoughts on what the fight meant to him. He tweeted:

"How cool would it be to spend my retirement fight dominating the greatest heavyweight of all time, in my home state at Madison Square Garden?"

Check out Jones' tweet here: