Jon Jones has spoken out against a UFC promo video that features a clip of him recorded earlier this year threatening to kill opponent Daniel Cormier. The clip was caught by a hot mic when the two fighters, who had been appearing on ESPN, thought they were off-air, and off the record. What happened was yet another boneheaded move in a series of bad moves by Jon Jones (including instigating a physical confrontation with Cormier at a media event, and exposing his manhood on the internet), and it quickly made the rounds in the press. The fight, however, then scheduled for September in Las Vegas, was moved to January as a result of an injury, and now headlines the UFC 182 card on the third day of 2015. In advance of that, the UFC has featured the soundbyte (which you can hear below in its original form) in promotional spots, though it has not been uploaded to the promotion's Youtube account.Speaking to UFC Tonight on Fox Sports 1 this week, Jones stated that he was a "little offended" by the clip being included, and went on to state that
That the UFC, someone whos supposed to be backing my brand and making me look good, would put up something like that for the general public to see. I dont think its really healthy for the world to see their champion for the world to see the UFCs champion saying I would kill someone, so that really took me off guard.
That's right - Jon Jones feels that it's up to the UFC to make him look good. Never mind the fact that he continually does and says offensive and ill-advised things on social media (he has also been accused of belittling fans and using homophobic language). The UFC clearly feels otherwise, and seems to be coming around to the idea of marketing Jones as the bad guy, since that's the corner he has, at this point, painted himself into. Jones and Cormier meet, as mentioned, in the main event of UFC 182 January 3rd. Who are you rooting for?