Jon Jones doesn't want to talk about it, but it seems everyone else does.
With the fast-rising star taking Rashad Evans' spot in this weekend's UFC 128 main event, Jones' next challenge could very well be against his Greg Jackson-trained teammate.
Grudge Training Center head Trevor Wittman, a former amateur boxer who has worked with both Evans and Jones, believes that with very few exceptions, teammates should be willing to square off in the cage
"I have a little bit of different beliefs when it comes to fighting each other," Wittman told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "As an amateur boxer, we fought each other on the team all the time. If you're a 119-pound fighters, and you've got five or six other guys going out to the tournaments, you're fighting each other."
Jones and Evans had long stated they had no interest in letting MMA interrupt their budding friendship. But with Jones now facing Mauricio "Shogun" Rua for the UFC's light heavyweight title, both 205-pounders have begun to change their tune.
UFC president Dana White has long believed teammates should be willing to meet when the title of world's best is on the line, and Wittman mostly agrees.
"Honestly, I can understand if you have two best buddies that trained together since the beginning, they're not going to fight each other unless there's something on the line like a title fight," Wittman said. "I feel if there's something on the line, you need to fight. If there's something coming out of it, and you're making a good amount of money doing it, I think that's what makes this sport and the combative sports unique compared to the other ones.
"I got into boxing because I used to love watching the guys talk crap at the press conferences and then go in and fight each other and try to knock each other's heads off and then always hug after the fight. That's what made me really interested. I had to go out and give it a try because I wanted to know what was making them do that."
Ultimately, the discussion of a potential Jones vs. Evans showdown could all be silenced by Rua's lethal Muay Thai. But if the young "Bones" is able to claim the belt, Wittman believes friendships need not be broken in the name of sport. After all, nothing commands more respect and kinship than hand-to-hand combat.
"You get in there, and you earn respect for each other," Wittman said. "When that final bell rings, you look at each other and know you just went rounds with that guy. There's not a better feeling than that. It's honestly the best feeling in the world."
