John Jones Recalls Dana Whites Fury Over His Refusal to Fight Chael Sonnen

The 37-year-old reigning UFC heavyweight champion (up to 265 lbs), American **Jon Jones**, recalled an incident when UFC president **[Dana White](https://www.ufc.com/athlete/dana-white)** became upset with him for refusing to fight his fellow countryman **Chael Sonnen**.

“At UFC 151, I turned down the fight with Chael Sonnen, and Dana just couldn’t understand the reasoning behind my decision. My refusal really angered him. Originally, I was supposed to face Dan Henderson, but he got injured, and Chael was brought in as a replacement. However, Henderson and Sonnen are close friends, and I didn’t want to put myself in that awkward position,” Jones stated, as reported by the Red Corner MMA account on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).