Spinning Back Clique: Will cooler heads prevail between Dana White and Jon Jones?

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, John Morgan takes MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” through a spin of the biggest headlines in the sport. Let’s go!

SHOW RUNDOWN

• Things escalated quickly between UFC president Dana White and Jon Jones, who was denied a pay increase when he approached the promotion with the idea of a heavyweight superfight against Francis Ngannou. Now, it’s been a classic instance of “he said, he said” to this point, with both White and Jones accusing the other of lying about negotiations. Bottom line: It’s reached the point that Jones has said he will vacate his light heavyweight title and walk away from the sport. So, can this situation be salvaged? Will cooler heads prevail?
• Welterweight is a pretty crowded division at the top, but Gilbert Burns just made a big statement by dominating former champion Tyron Woodley in the UFC on ESPN 9 main event. Now on a six-fight winning streak, what makes sense as Burns’ next step?
• On the flip side, Woodley now has lost two fights in a row and basically been shut out in 10 straight rounds. At 38 and on the first losing streak of his career, can Woodley recover and climb his way back to the top?
• UFC on ESPN 9 featured quite a few standout performances, Mackenzie Dern and Roosevelt Roberts among them. Who stood out the most?
• UFC 250 on Saturday is where things seemingly will get sorted out with the bantamweight division, which features three key fights, including the highly anticipated bout between top contenders Cory Sandhagen and Aljamain Sterling. Now, Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo tentatively is lined up as bout for the vacant 135-pound title. But could somebody at UFC 250 make a big enough statement to jump the line?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 31 of “Spinning Back Clique” above.