Since entering the UFC in 2008, Jon “Bones” Jones has been nothing less than explosive in the Octagon. He has has been virtually unstoppable in the UFC, going 9-1 (the sole loss was a DQ in a fight he was dominating against Matt Hamil) and recorded a finish in all but one of those fights. He’s come off as Superman both in and outside of the ring; young and personable, the light heavyweight champ was exactly what UFC kingpin Dana White needed in a champion prior to bringing the UFC to the mainstream. All has been going well, uninterrupted. Well until recently, that is…
Chinks in Jones’ superhuman armour have begun to appear recently, most notably outside of the cage. On May 19th, 2012, he woke up with a different feeling; It wasn’t that of a young man surrounded by piles of money and beautiful women, but that of his Bentley Continental wrapped around a pole in Binghamton, New York. Jones was charged with DWI (driving while intoxicated) and released on bail. He would later plead “guilty” to the charge, showing that Superman isn’t perfect after all.
A little damage to his reputation by a DWI was all but erased when Nike announced that it would be signing Jones to an international sponsorship deal – the first of its kind for any UFC fighter. It’s funny how quickly people forgive and forget an athlete’s wrongdoings when a major company throws its weight behind them. However, this was only a veil covering what would explode in the media as a major dent in the young champion’s reputation.
In what many considered to be the last major challenge for Jones at 205lbs, Dan Henderson was set to take on the young champ in a headlong match at UFC 151. Everything was set, and press was building – that is until Henderson had to pull out with an MCL injury. One thing the UFC has always done quite admirably is finding last minute replacements for fights. This being a rather large fight, the wheels were turning, and names were being tossed around to replace Henderson.
The first to through his name into the octagon was newly minted 205lb-er, Chael Sonnen, who was eager to fill the void on the card. Much to the chagrin of many fight fans who would have been satisfied with a Sonnen-Jones fight, Jones quickly dismissed the notion.
After officially announcing the that UFC 151 will go down in history as the first UFC to ever be cancelled, Dana White announces that Jones will face Machida (next in line for a shot) at UFC 152. White placed the blame squarely on Jones and coach Greg Jackson for the demise of UFC 151. With little to no notice it is then revealed that Jones will be fighting Vitor Belfort for the title at UFC 152, and not Machida. It later turns out that Machida turned down the fight against Jones, allegedly because he wanted to fight in his home country of Brazil.
Just to spin things even further sideways it turns out that Jones was also offered Shogun for a title fight, but refused. Why did Jones refuse the fight against Shogun? Allegedly because his first fight against the former Brazillian champion was his lowest grossing pay-per-view to-date.
There are two sides to every coin. Before passing judgement it’s important to look at everything from not only the point-of-view of the fan, but also that of the fighter himself.
From Jones’ point-of-view, everything he has done through this ordeal makes complete sense. For Jones to fight Sonnen would have been a circus more than a legitimate title fight. Sonnen has no place fighting for the championship at 205lbs, after recently losing a title bout at 185lbs. Sonnen can chirp all he likes. The fact is he needs to build some credibility at light heavyweight before being granted a title bout.
Rumour has it that Jones turned down Shogun because of previously low pay-per-view numbers. Perhaps this was the case, but can you blame the kid? He wants to put on the best fight possible, perhaps he feels that his fight against Shogun was not as big of a draw. Also, why risk the title against a guy who really hasn’t done much to prove that he truly deserves a shot after you’ve just signed a lucrative sponsorship deal?
Which bring us to Belfort. Vitor’s one-dimensional (albeit deadly) style of fighting is enough to prep for within the scope of a month, especially considering Jones had also already been preparing for a striking onslaught to be laid down by Henderson.
From the perspective of the fan, we don’t care about the politics or the preparation – we just want to see the best fight, and in most cases we really aren’t that particular as to the opponent. Seeing Jones turn down multiple opponents sours the fans’ opinion of the champ, and rightfully so. When you constantly hear testosterone-filled statements from Dana White saying that he just wants guys to fight, and he doesn’t like hearing excuses, it’s hard for the regular fan not to get their claws out against Jones.
In my opinion Jones made the right decision. He picked an interesting opponent, and only delayed his original fight date by a few weeks. We’re still going to get to see a prepared Jon Jones, who has no excuses if he loses (which he probably won’t).
What will strike me the most about this whole ordeal is that Dana White did not stand behind his fighter. Regardless of Jones, or Machida, or whoever’s reason for not wanting to fight you should never put down your own talent. Imagine Bud Selig or Gary Bettman putting down one of their players – no one would stand for it. As much as I enjoy Dana White’s candor, it’s things like this that make me wonder whether or not he is good for the sport.
… and that is the last word.
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