Jackson explains decision to corner Jones |
"I felt I had kind of a duty to the team," Jackson said on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour. "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."
Jackson has been working with Jones throughout the entire fight camp, but that doesn't mean it's been a comfortable feeling given everything he's gone through with Evans over the years. The two were together for most of Evans' career, through his championship victory, until the tension with Jones caused a rift that ultimately became a rip.
"It's not fun," he said of the situation. "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 something I think I have to do."