White on McGregor’s Featherweight Title: “If McGregor is truly retired, the belt is vacant.”
LOS ANGELES – UFC TONIGHT host Daniel Cormier and guest host Brian Stann preview Saturday’s UFC 197: JONES VS. SAINT PREUX and catch up with headliner Jon Jones and Demetrious Johnson. They also talk to UFC president Dana White about Conor McGregor. Karyn Bryant adds reports.
UFC TONIGHT host Daniel Cormier on Conor McGregor announcing his retirement: “I kind of believe he’s overplayed his hand a little bit. After hearing everyone, Dana had to do his job. The UFC is bigger than one card.”
UFC TONIGHT guest host Brain Stann on McGregor: “It’s all about timing if you’re going to try to create leverage. He’s done a lot for the company. But losing the opportunity to headline UFC 200, he’d get a substantial paycheck for that fight, win, lose or draw. I think he’s making a mistake. This is not the time to dig his heels in the ground. But we’ve come to expect the unexpected from Conor.”
Dana White on how long he’s been discussing the situation with Conor McGregor: “This was going back and forth over a few days. Conor has stepped up to the plate for us when we needed him in the past. We’ve been criticized for giving Conor too much leeway and maybe we do, but he deserves it.”
White on if it’s too late for McGregor to come back and promote UFC 200: “Friday is not the first day of promotion. All the fighters are here [in Vegas] already. The commercial is over a million dollars. He’s already missing stuff and the window is gone.”
White on the featherweight title: “If McGregor is truly retired, the belt is vacant. Also, it’d take four months for him to come back because of USADA, and he’d need that time for random drug testing to take effect.”
White on McGregor’s retirement: “The big question is: ‘Are you retired?’ If you are, that belt is vacant and they [Jose Aldo and Frankie Edger] are fighting for the title.”
VIDEO: Dana White Interview
Stann on Jon Jones return to the Octagon against Ovince Saint Preux after the long layoff: “Knowing Jon Jones, we can expect to see great stuff. He’s going to want to show us things we haven’t seen before. I think he’s going to try to out strike Ovince.”
Cormier on how Jones will fight Saint Preux: “You have to realize, this guy has been the best pound-for-pound fighter for a long time. He’s going to mix in a lot of kicks early to confuse Ovince. Then he’ll mix in elbows and takedowns and then Ovince will be really confused and Jon will get him.”
Cormier on what Saint Preux should do against Jones: “Don’t be where Jones expects you to be. Go out there and throw everything at Jon Jones and hold nothing back. Be diverse and elusive. Make Jones guess what’s next. Saint Preux can hurt people going backwards, but he needs to put Jon on his heels a little.”
VIDEO: UFC Strikezone/Predictions
Jon Jones on what the change in opponent has done for him: “The team has been even closer since the opponent change. The biggest thing is we rallied together. We’re confident. I’ve won nine titles with them. I have a lot of belief with these guys.”
Jones on how he fights different fighters with different styles: “I have this strong drive to be the best. I don’t like the thought of someone being better than me at any craft. I’ll stand and trade with Ovince because that’s where he’s best. I haven’t told anyone this yet, but I believe I’m a better southpaw than him. I might just stand southpaw the whole fight to prove a point.”
VIDEO: Jon Jones Interview
http://www.foxsports.com/ufc/
Demetrious Johnson on how he’ll fight Henry Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist: “I just deal with him like any other athlete I’ve faced. It’s just another fight.”
Johnson on if he’s cleaned out the flyweight and wants to move to bantamweight: “I’m focused on my division. There are guys in the flyweight division who are more famous than Henry Cejudo. Anderson Silva was the greatest of all time. Hopefully I can break that record and set a new record.”
VIDEO: Demetrious Johnson Interview
http://www.foxsports.com/ufc/
VIDEO: Cláudia Gadelha talks about filming The Ultimate Fighter
http://www.foxsports.com/ufc/
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