UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (Pictured) will be circling the Daytona International Speedway on February 26th. No, not as a contestant in the 54th annual Daytona 500, but “Bones” will serve as Honorary Race Official for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

FOX, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s new broadcast partners, will air the festivities live beginning at 1PM ET/10AM PT.

“I am thrilled to be able to serve as Honorary Race Official at this year’s Daytona 500, NASCAR’s premier event,” Jones said. “Like the UFC, NASCAR has a passionate and knowledgeable fan base, and I am honored that I will get to share this experience with them.”

As part of Jones’ duties, he will be introduced at the driver’s meeting, participate in pre-race ceremonies and ride in one of the honorary race official cars ahead of the 43-car field for the 200-lap, 500-mile historic race.

“Jon ‘Bones’ Jones is the biggest name in mixed martial arts,” Daytona International Speedway president Joie Chitwood III said. “We are excited to welcome him to the ‘World Center of Racing’ and have him be a part of the pre-race ceremonies for NASCAR’s biggest, richest and most prestigious race.”

Jones returns to his day job on April 21st when he puts his 205-pound crown on the line against Rashad Evans at UFC 145.

Greg Jackson, the MMA coach who has long sought to foster a team-first environment at his gym and claimed he would never participate if two of his students planned to fight against each other, has made a difficult decision: He has decided to corner Jon Jones at UFC 145, when Jones will defend the light heavyweight title against Rashad Evans, a longtime member of Team Jackson.

Evans left the Jackson team only after it became clear that he and Jones were on a collision course at the top of the light heavyweight division, and there's some lingering bitterness ...

Once again we’ve gathered the best MMA news from the baddest websites on the ‘net so that 5thRouand nation won’t miss a beat! Make sure to check out the links after the jump.

Brittney Palmer’s Playboy spread official hit stands this past week, but it was fellow Octagon girl Chandella Powell that caught all the headlines.

Evidence of Powell’s past surfaced this week which led to rumors of her firing, but don’t worry the UFC still employees 3 scantly clad women.

Enough talk, onto this past week’s top news:

Exclusive interview with Benson Henderson [Fightline]

Jon Jones and Rashad Evans continue verbal sparring [CagePotato]

Chandella Powell apologizes for past [MMAMania]

Jason Miller returning against C.B. Dollaway [Lowkick]

8 possible opponents for Fedor [BleacherReport]

Anderson Silva on Chael Sonnen and others [MMAConvert]

Dan Henderson’s waiting game continues [MMAFighting]

Brian Stann announces future role for FOX [Five Ounces of Pain]

Ronda Rousey’s diet included whiskey [MiddleEasy]

Dana White says the NSAC is consistently inconsistent [Fight Opinion]

Their battle has been a long time coming, and with a date finally set the war of words between Rashad Evans and Jon Jones is starting to heat up. Fresh off the heels of their UFC 145 presser, the two sat down with the crew of SportsNite to verbally squabble once more.

Video: CSS-Sports.com  (Part II after the jump)

Their battle has been a long time coming, and with a date finally set the war of words between Rashad Evans and Jon Jones is starting to heat up. Fresh off the heels of their UFC 145 presser, the two sat down with the crew of SportsNite to verbally squab once more.

Jones dutifully stuck to the script, referring to this bout as just another chapter in “his storyline” and flattering himself whenever possible. Rashad seemed content to lay back and paint ‘Bones’ as a fraud and a hypocrite. ...

To corner, or not to corner, that had been the question posed to MMA guru Greg Jackson. After further consideration, it appears the famed trainer will indeed serve as the calming voice in Jon Jones’ (Pictured) ear when he defends his crown against Rashad Evans.

“Greg Jackson confirmed today he will be in my corner for UFC 145,” Jones tweeted Saturday evening.

Earlier this month, Jackson suggested he was “leaning toward” cornering Jones when he faced his prior pupil. However, during Thursday’s press conference Jones said he only expected Jackson to help him prepare for Evans, but didn’t plan on him being present when he painted his next “masterpiece.”

“Suga” quickly turned sour on Jackson’s famed academy when he believed they favored Jones over him. Evans subsequently left the team and has been training with the Blackzilians at Imperial Athletics in Boca Raton, Florida since last spring.

After the swap was made, a definitive line in the sand was drawn that allowed Jackson to conclude he could corner Jones in their shootout if he wished. Although, some felt Jackson would be breaking unspoken ‘bro code’ by doing so because he was the one who helped guide Evans to the title not too long ago.

It’s possible Jones convinced Jackson to be by his side after Thursday night’s heated verbal sparring session with Evans on SportsNite. Evans attacked his former teammate’s character and continued to bring up the now-infamous practice session where he got the better of “Bones.” Evans claims he held him down and Jones was “crying” because he wouldn’t let him back up.

The arch enemies will have the opportunity to settle their differences on April 21st inside Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The much-anticipated 205-pound title affair headlines the pay-per-view broadcast.