
Jon Jones makes major career decision and puts shock phone call to Dana White and UFC brass amid Tom Aspinall fallout
The former two-division champion ended fans' hopes of a mega heavyweight title unification bout with Tom Aspinall late last month by hanging up his gloves.
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But the 37-year-old performed a major U-turn on his retirement last week by re-entering the UFC 's drug testing pool.
Jones has continued to umm and ahh over the idea of fighting again, although the prospect of facing Aspinall seemingly doesn't get his competitive juices flowing.
But the prospect of fighting at the proposed UFC White House card next year to mark America's 250th anniversary has piqued his interest.
And not long after learning of the promotion's grand plans, Jones put a call into Dana White and Co.
In his latest X-posting spree, he wrote: "Donald made his announcement on the morning of the fourth of July.
"I called the UFC headquarters that very same afternoon. I'll leave it at that.
"America! Now that tickets my pickle."
Jones believes a fight on the grounds of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will be the most "epic" of his long and illustrious career.
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He said: "It would be [the most epic fight in history].
"For me, it's about the opportunity to represent America at the White House."
MMA fans worldwide are hoping that Brit and the new undisputed heavyweight king Aspinall will face off against Jones if he indeed fights at the White House.
It would be fitting given that America, of course, got its independence from the United Kingdom.
Jones, however, could care little about who he fights at this moment in time.
He roared: "I don't care who I fight that night. I found my reason why, that's what I needed.
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"Something more than money."
Jones was offered the biggest payday of his Hall-of-Fame career after demanding " F**K YOU MONEY" to unify the interim and undisputed belts against Aspinall.
UFC supremo White claims Jones initially accepted the offer on the table before performing a U-turn and deciding to retire.
Jones - who was recently charged with leaving the scene of an accident in New Mexico - has denied that notion and insists he told the UFC brass he was done last November.
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BBC News
30 minutes ago
- BBC News
The Englishman who turned around Scheffler's putting fortunes
When world number one Scottie Scheffler reached out to one of golf's most sought-after putting coaches in September 2023, he could not have imagined the transformation it would bring to his American was already a major champion and had won twice that season but he was in a fug. The statistics proved he was the best from tee to green. They also proved he was among the worst with a putter in Tour players hole 90% of putts from four feet. At that time, Scheffler was making 80%. The best player in the world was ranked outside the top 150 in putting and fending off the same questions every in Phil Kenyon, coach to the best in the 12 months, Scheffler had risen into the top 15 putters and completed a remarkable season, winning seven PGA Tour events, including a second Masters, and an Olympic gold medal at the Paris he arrives at this week's Open Championship on the back of a run of three victories in his past 10 events - including winning his third major at the US PGA Championship - and finishing in the top 10 in the other seven to reaffirm his position as the world's dominant player."That was a particular high for Scottie after some lows and a lot of discussion about his putting," Kenyon told BBC Sport of the American's major victory at Augusta National in April 2024."And for him to putt so well fairly early on in my role working with him, that was a highlight for me."So what did Kenyon tweak? 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It influences the break a lot and when you've got these subtleties of break and wind it makes it a very different challenge in your read. "It's like in tennis - you've had clay court season and then you get on to grass - part of your preparation is adapting to the surfaces you're putting on."A lot of adaption occurs subconsciously and I'm there to provide feedback, making sure they are comfortable with what they are doing." What's the secret to putting like a pro? "You've got three skills to master. Starting the ball on the right line. Controlling the speed. Reading the green," said Kenyon."And there are a variety of techniques you can use within each skill. With all of them it's about trying to find the right technique for you, what matches you as a person, your personality."You can't just master two out of the three, though. All three skills need to be working in harmony for putts to of the techniques Kenyon coaches for green reading, for example, is AimPoint, which has been around for a couple of decades but has recently increased in popularity and is used by players such as former world number one Adam Scott, Rose and is being seen as a way of speeding up the putting process. In basic terms, players use their feet to feel and grade the severity of slope from one to three. They then hold up the corresponding number of fingers out in front of them towards the hole to line up the putt, using the outside edge of the fingers as the aim point."It's a valid method that is growing in appeal, but there are other ways to read greens," said Kenyon, who points to the internet as a huge source of information."It's not always good but people will come across things that will make them think more and that 'oh, I should try that this weekend'."And when you are next out and trying new putting techniques, perhaps frustrated at missing that eight-footer to 'win The Open', remind yourself that PGA Tour players fail to hole from that distance 50% of the time.


Daily Mail
an hour ago
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The Guardian
an hour ago
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