For Jon Jones, being the most polarizing figure in MMA also comes with the hefty price tag of dealing with endless haters.
The reigning UFC light heavyweight champ can’t even sneeze without being condemned for some blasphemous act of injustice. Complete strangers have resorted to calling him fake, classless and arrogant. What is it about Jon Jones that gets under people’s skin? Why does he have so many haters?
History has taught us that winning is a surefire way to draw the ire of fans.
The mere entertainment value of a sport can become compromised when the same person wins over and over again. It is common for fans of certain athletes to jump off the bandwagon as that athlete reaches the top and sustains greatness.
The New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady were treated like royalty by NFL fans during their first Super Bowl run over a decade ago. Three championships later, they are arguably the most hated team in professional football. The Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan had the entire nation backing their NBA franchise in the nineties, but multiple championship victories and Jordan’s unparalleled greatness eventually turned the masses against them.
The same could be said for all-time great professional boxers Muhammad Ali and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Both of these men were cheered and praised all the way to the top, but once the mountaintop was cleared, public opinion began to rapidly change.
Jones was praised early in his career for his confidence and creativity inside the Octagon. Now he is being judged and criticized for those exact same things.
Pre-fight talk that was once looked at as confidence being shown by a young fighter is now being perceived as arrogance and cockiness. A technique such as the oblique kick that was initially admired by the masses is now looked at as dirty and cheap.
Jones touched on this topic during an interview with MMAjunkie.com earlier this year:
I’ve gotten to the point now where I realize I’m not going to be a fan-favorite, and being loved isn’t necessarily – it doesn’t have to be. Muhammad Ali was hated, and then he was loved at the very end. Floyd Mayweather was hated, and a lot of people are really coming around on him. So I’m just remaining positive and trying not to offend too many people along this way.
Perhaps the hate for Jones stems from his youth.
Fighters like Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort are legends who basically helped build MMA. These men were considered immovable objects and the cornerstones of the light heavyweight division. Yet Jones, who was basically a kid at the time, swooped in with all of his physical gifts and otherworldly talents and trumped these beloved legends with ease.
The term “hater” is justly used in this piece because those judging Jones have no viable insight into the type of person he truly is. People simply cling to whatever petty angle they can find as a reason to root against him.
Anderson Silva, an all-time great in MMA, wasn’t without his haters during his record-long run as UFC middleweight champ. Even Georges St-Pierre, one of the sport’s friendliest personalities, had his share of haters towards the end of his welterweight run.
The difference with Silva and St-Pierre is that they embraced their personalities from the very beginning. Neither went out of their way to change their own public perception. Jones, on the other hand, has been striving for years to get people to like him.
He has often gone out of his way to try to say all the right things and maintain a perfect image. Unfortunately, it’s virtually impossible to meet these standards in a world where a camera is right around every corner, and people are judging everything you do. Jones’ overzealousness in being the good guy played a hand in making him the bad guy.
It isn’t hard for cracks to show when the spotlight is constantly on a subject. Anything fans see as superfluous typically gets labeled as fake and disingenuous. Years of playing nice has finally helped Jones understand you can’t please everybody.
“When I read my comments on Twitter and Instagram, I realize that I really do inspire people and touch people and people really do appreciate who I am as a martial artist,” Jones said during the UFC 182 media phone conference on Monday.
“Then when I look at some of the people who write me negative messages, it’s always so dumb,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Dude you’re fake.’ I’ve been hearing that I’m fake for so many years it’s like, ‘OK.’ Who cares if I’m fake? I win fights and that’s what I’m here to do. I’m not here to win you over in my personality. I’m here to fight, that’s ultimately my job. I look at the people who hate on me, and it’s never anything solid. It’s like, ‘Dude you poke people in the eyes in your fights.’”
“OK, that’s an accident, or it’s, ‘Hey you’re fake, you’re bigger than the other light heavyweights.’ It’s always real stupid stuff. So I’ve learned to kind of laugh at it. I’m just waiting for the person who really hates me and gives me a legit answer or reason. No one has ever really given me anything solid, outside of calling me fake. I mean what are we in high school? I’m a grown man. I’m like, ‘OK, you’re calling me fake? You can’t call my work ethic fake and the things I’ve achieved fake.’”
True greatness is hardly ever appreciated until it’s gone. Public opinion will often vary on Jones, but no one can ever question his accomplishments in MMA. Being the villain is a hard job, but somebody has to do it.
On Saturday night, Daniel Cormier enters one of the biggest grudge matches in UFC history against Jones as a fan favorite. If he’s fortunate, his good guy role won’t last long.
Perhaps one day Cormier will be champion long enough to give birth to his own section of haters.
All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.
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