TORONTO - An injured hand has forced Jon (Bones) Jones to pull out of his UFC light-heavyweight title defence against former champion Rashad Evans.
Jones will be replaced by Phil (Mr. Wonderful) Davis, who will take on Evans at UFC 133 on Aug. 6 in Philadelphia.
Jones' management said the champion has torn tissue between his right thumb and forefinger.
"This is an injury that's been recurring since I was a college wrestler," Jones said in a statement Monday. "It doesn't affect my punching or grappling, but I am taking the time and the proper measures to correct this now, so that it doesn't happen again.
"I look forward to getting back to training and to my first title defence. As for Rashad, let's see what happens with Phil Davis. I will be watching that fight with great interest."
The winner will likely get a shot at a healthy Jones.
Said Evans: "I wish Jon Jones a speedy recovery, he has something that belongs to me and when he's ready, I'll be waiting."
Davis (9-0) is coming off a unanimous decision over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in March. A former four-time all-American wrestler at Penn State, Davis is 5-0 in the UFC and has drawn some comparisons to Jones.
Evans (20-1-1) had been slated to fight then-champion Mauricio (Shogun) Rua at UFC 128 in March. But he was sidelined by injury, allowing Jones the opportunity to fight and beat Rua.
That caused some tension between the two former training partners, with Evans indicating his distaste at Jones jumping ahead of him in the title queue.
Jones, however, made the most of the opportunity. The 23-year-old former junior college wrestling champion dominated Rua en route to becoming the UFC's youngest ever title-holder.
Jones made no secret after the Rua fight that he wanted some time off. The bout was his fifth in 15 months.
