UFC
Greg Jackson says cornering Jon Jones against former student Rashad Evans at UFC 145 a responsibility
Apr 3, 2012 - 7:15:58 PM Greg Jackson says cornering Jon Jones against former student Rashad Evans at UFC 145 a responsibility

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

When it became clear last year that Jon Jones and Rashad Evans were destined to face off inside of the Octagon, the man that helped bring each of them to prominence didn't want anything to do with it. Trainer Greg Jackson said he would refrain from cornering either fighter were that fight to come to fruition, but Evans left his camp anyway.

In the year that has passed since, Jackson came to change his mind, in large part due to Evans' exit from the camp, and in an interview with MMAFighting.com on Monday, Jackson explained why he ultimately decided to assist Jones in his preparations for UFC 145.

"I felt I had kind of a duty to the team," Jackson said. "What I mean by that is Jon Jones is on the team, Rashad has left the team and has made it pretty clear he's not coming back. My personal feeling, if I wanted to be a little selfish, I would say, 'I don't want to deal with any of it. I don't want to be there at all.' But it has to mean something to be on a team. It has to mean something, and I felt I had a duty to do that, because Jon's on the team, so it's my responsibility to corner him. Even though it's a really hard decision, I decided to go with it."

"It's not fun. I wouldn't call it weird, it's just not fun. I love Jon to death, but I love Rashad, too. And so it's not a position I enjoy at all. It's not something I like, but it's something I think I have to do."

Penick's Analysis: I can't disagree with Jackson ultimately deciding to work with Jones for this fight. Regardless of their past relationships and affiliations, the fact of the matter is that Evans left the camp. Evans isn't part of Jackson's anymore, and he has no reason to step aside from Jones in order to placate anyone's feelings. He's got a fighter who is with him in Jones, and Jackson doesn't gain anything by staying on the side for this one. Evans isn't coming back to his camp, plain and simple.