Dana White Says Jon Jones Lied Regarding UFC 151 Cancellation

UFC president Dana White blasted UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, disputing a claim the title-holder recently made regarding UFC 151 when he told MMA Fighting:

"

I'm actually glad that he did say that. I don't think he would have said that if I was there. So today we're going to be face-to-face and we'll see what he says and he doesn't say. The fact that he said he didn't know the show would be canceled is false. I did tell him the show would be canceled.

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On Thursday, "Bones" said that White never indicated that rejecting a fight with Chael Sonnen would lead to the downfall of UFC 151. 

The UFC's matchmaking problems weren't over after that, as Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua declined rematches with Jones on short notice. 

Eventually, another former light heavyweight champion stepped up to the plate, but it was no one that anyone expected: Vitor Belfort. 

"The Phenom" has not competed at 205 pounds since 2007, but was recruited as a last-ditch effort to get Jones to defend his belt in September. Jones defends his belt at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto Saturday evening.

White criticized Jones for, in his opinion, not taking the company's recent struggles seriously. 

"

I think he takes this thing, or is acting like he's taking it, lightly, which he shouldn't be. The fact that the fight was canceled isn't a joke. It's not funny and a lot of people were affected by it. There was a lot of collateral damage that happened with the cancelling of the show. We'll see how this goes.

"

Jones and White were scheduled to have a one-on-one meeting Friday, but no details of that scheduled conversation have been revealed yet. 

Will a dominant win over Belfort allow the youngest champion in UFC history to put the UFC 151 saga behind him or will this fiasco haunt Jones for the rest of his career?