Here's an interesting take on the situation and some good points about Jones' injury and sense of timing.
edit: source
"It doesn't affect my punching or grappling" .....hmmmmAs reported by Neil Davidson on twitter today, Jon Jones has pulled out of his fight with Rashad Evans at UFC 133. The reported reason is a torn ligament in his hand from his win over Mauricio Rua. There's some real questions regarding the timing after Jones has been building up his fight with Evans for the past month only to finally break the news that he's getting surgery on an injured hand.
Hand injuries can take up to 10 weeks to heal properly which would place the timing of a return to full sparring around mid-May which makes the announcement all the more interesting. A may return to full sparring would still allow for an 8 week camp for the fight with Rashad Evans, a normal camp length for most fighters. With Jones having spent the past month building up his fight with various claims of being the superior fighter at Jackson's MMA and having to take it easy on Rashad when sparring, it definitely seems like an odd time to pull out of a fight.
Replacing Jones is Phil Davis, a fighter who is quickly making a name for himself in the UFC with solid performances since making his debut at UFC 109. It appears that Zuffa has removed the training wheels and is ready to toss Davis into the upper echelon of the 205. A fight with Evans is essentially a "no-lose" situation for Davis, who is facing a fighter who is arguably one of the best Light Heavyweight fighters to ever fight. A win would propel Davis into the title picture, while a loss wouldn't set him back immensely. The opposite is the case for Evans, if he loses to Davis, his aspirations of facing Jones are all but sunk.
Jones released an explanation via his management company:
"(The torn tissue in my right hand in the area between my thumb and forefinger) is an injury that’s been recurring since I was a college wrestler, 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 defense. As for Rashad, let’s see what happens with Phil Davis. I will be watching that fight with great interest."
Rashad Evans provided a pretty tame response:
"I’m looking forward to fighting Phil Davis August 6th at UFC 133, he’s a strong wrestler and a rising star in the light heavyweight division. I wish Jon Jones a speedy recovery, he has something that belongs to me and when he’s ready, I’ll be waiting."
Now, obviously, the first major sign is that both fighters share a publicist in former Zuffa employee Jen Wenk, who has obviously kept her clients' responses as professional as possible.
Do I believe he has hand injuries from wrestling college? Sure, it's completely possible. However, when a fighter has spent time burying a former teammate, it calls into question the real reason for pulling out of the fight. The first is the fact that Jones may be taking off time to get married, which would obviously take time away from the fighting mindset. But if he was planning on getting married, why bother building up the fight in such an aggressive manner? The second is that it could be a ploy to renegotiate a contract. This wouldn't be the first time that Zuffa has dealt with a star who attempts to renegotiate after a massive media push. The third is that Jones could be legitimately hurt and just found out about the timetable recently. I obviously don't believe this and think this is a ploy from Malki Kawa.
Whatever the case, this is the biggest chance of Phil Davis' career and could be a fight that sets the tone for Rashad's future. I've been a proponent of a drop to 185 to create new interesting matchups and a loss to Davis would definitely create that opportunity. Props to both men for this fight and shame on Jones for pulling out when he has ample time to recover.
edit: source