At UFC 126, Jon Jones defeated Ryan Bader by guillotine choke and after his hand was raised in victory his life would never be the same again.
He was informed that since his teammate (at the time) Rashad Evans was injured, that he would be given the shot to face Mauricio “Shogun” Rua just six weeks later at UFC 128 for the Light Heavyweight Championship of the World. Once the words “Let’s do it” left his mouth, Jones has not been the same person.
Leading up to the fight, you could seen a new-found confidence in Jones.
He was already signing autographs as “Champ 2011” he was in most people’s eyes extremely arrogant. One thing is for sure though, he backed it all up in the cage, but after winning the fight and becoming champion is when he was really tested.
After winning the belt, he appeared on many talk shows and was a very popular subject to discuss. It was announced that he would face Rashad Evans as his first title defense, but Jones withdrew due to a “thumb injury.” That was very fishy to many people, especially because just a year before in an interview he was quoted stating the following about fighting a teammate:
“I just think there are lots of ways around it. You know, you could fake injuries. You could do anything. I mean, there’s just so many ways around it, you know? But before I joined the team that was the first conversation we had. It was just about friendship.”
After he withdrew, it was announced that instead Rashad would fight Phil Davis. Shortly after that was announced, Jon Jones announced that he would not need surgery on his hand, and would fight later in the year. That really raised many, many questions. Shortly after, Quinton Jackson defeated Matt Hamill and was named the number one contender and will now face Jones at UFC 135.
So…Has Jones lost his focus?
At a press conference promoting UFC 135, Jones and Jackson were going back and forth, and when the two met for a staredown, Jackson made it a joke and Jones later said that he was unhappy about that. (Click here to see staredown)
Being champion is a tough task. You know what kind of champion someone is once they defend their title. Many fans, and media are hyping Jones like he is the greatest thing to happen to the sport, and as a champion and being young that sometimes can be a bad thing.
Many people will have their opinions on this topic, but just by hearing assumptions doesn’t always mean it is the correct answer. There is no doubt that Jon Jones is a phenomenal fighter, but in MMA anything can happen and at some point in every fighter’s career they suffer a defeat. Some handle it well, and some don’t.
Mental toughness is an extremely important part of a fighter’s arsenal, and at UFC 135 we will see how mentally tough Jones really is. Being young, a world champion, and defending your title for the first time against a legend, well that is something that will definitely test a fighter’s mind.
It is too soon to tell whether or not is ready to be Champion or whether he has lost focus. Actions speak louder than words and on September 24th at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado all questions will be answered and we will know what kind of Champion Jones really is.
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