Jon Jones Manager Says He's Not Ducking Rashad Evans

After a whirl wind week for Malki Kawa after rumors began to run wild that his star client, Jon Jones, was ducking his first challenger, Rashad Evans, Kawa went on damage control while talking to MMAJunkie.com this week about the fight, when and if it will happen, and the injury that prevented it from happening:

On Rumors That Jones Is Ducking Evans: "Jon's not ducking Rashad. Jon is willing to fight Rashad. Jon wants to fight Rashad. Jon has no reason to duck him. The only reason he's not able to fight on the timeline that Rashad wants is because his hand is not going to be ready. Surgery or no surgery, his hand is not 100 percent, and there's nothing Jon can do about it."

On Jones' Injury: "In the past, his hand would hurt for a few weeks, but the swelling and pain would eventually go away," Kawa said. "It's completely different this time. It's getting better now, two months after the fight, but he still doesn't have his full strength. Jon never wanted to have surgery. He didn't want to be forced out of the cage for an extended period of time. When Dr. Vahey gave him his opinion – and this guy is the top dog in hand surgeries – when he said he didn't recommend surgery, it was music to Jon's ears. Now he knows he can just rehab it."

On Jones vs. Evans Happening: "From the very get-go, we said we wanted to fight Rashad," Kawa said. "But that always meant fighting in August. We can't do it in August. We always told the UFC it was going to be September or October before Jon would be ready. His hand was hurting, and he needed the time off. Even before he saw a single doctor, we told the UFC September or October would probably be best. The champ will be ready in September or October. That's only a month or two after Rashad's fight with Phil Davis. I can understand not wanting to wait in case something else happens with Jon's hand and the fight has to be delayed more. Rahsad got bit in the ass doing that one time before. But don't tell me that the champ doesn't want to fight you. The champ wants to fight you. Jon hasn't done anything to duck this fight. The only reason people think that is because Rashad said so. Jon's not ducking anybody. If Rashad wants to do October and Dana White's OK with it, let's do it in October. We're ready to rock and roll."