Ligament damage may delay Jon Jones' UFC return, says Dana White

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones wants to fight soon, and his manager has said he'd like to try fighting twice more in 2013, but that may not be possible. Though the toe he injured against Chael Sonnen last month at UFC 159 is healing, UFC President Dana White says lingering ligament issues have his immediate recovery time unclear.

"He says he feels great, the toe's healing good, but the problem is that ligament," White said on Thursday ahead of UFC 160 in Las Vegas (via MMAFighting.com. "That ligament popped. Anytime you tear a ligament, blood flow helps repair the thing and heal, and you don't get a lot of blood flow to the toe. Who knows? This thing could be six weeks, it could be six months. It's a pain in the ass, man. Always some little, crazy thing."

White added that Jones will undergo an MRI on the toe when he returns from a trip to Russia he made following the Sonnen fight, and that should help clear up where he's at in his recovery.

Penick's Analysis: Though Jones remained a wild card name to headline the first UFC on Fox Sports 1 card, this type of potential delay probably takes him out as a realistic option, unless he gets the MRI early next week and is cleared to go. But the "six weeks or six months" uncertainty doesn't necessarily inspire confidence. Hopefully it doesn't end up being that delayed, but it's a waiting game with Jones for now.

[Jon Jones art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

(Attention MMATorch app users: Make sure to upgrade to the latest edition of the MMATorch app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device!)

-Follow Us on Twitter: CLICK HERE
-Like Us on Facebook: CLICK HERE
-Listen to our Weekly Podcast: CLICK HERE
-Subscribe to our Podcast in iTunes: CLICK HERE
-Get our Free iPhone App: CLICK HERE
-Get our Free Amazon Kindle App: CLICK HERE
-Get our Free Android App: CLICK HERE

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_16991.shtml

Murilo Bustamante Grant Campbell Gesias JZ Calvancante Luiz Cane