Jon Jones was on the fast track to become the biggest star in MMA. He had perhaps the best year of any fighter in 2011 by defeating three former champions and an Ultimate Fighter winner. Not only did Jones beat them but did so convincingly.
2012 hasn’t been as kind to the UFC champion. Jones saw his image with the fans come under intense scrutiny during the lead up to his showdown with Rashad Evans prior to UFC 145, and saw it stained after crashing his customized Bentley after drinking.
Now Jones has become perhaps the most hated man in MMA after refusing to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice following the injury to Dan Henderson. Not only has Jones made almost every fan upset, he’s also damaged his relationship with his boss.
Jones has made a PR nightmare in the past for removing himself from the initial fight with Evans for a surgery on which he later changed his mind. Just as the past came to haunt Jones in his rivalry with his former teammate, so too now will it with his recent decision making.
An interview Jones did prior to meeting Evans at UFC 145 paints a very different picture of the champion from when it seemed to be nothing but smooth sailing ahead for Jones.
The champion was asked about his sponsorship with the UFC’s clothing line and how it was a great step forward for Jones.
“We came up with a strategy to keep it clean and be sponsored by the UFC itself. I’m glad the UFC wanted to work with me as well, and I think that they trust that I’ll never make them look bad. You never have to worry about me with a DWI (driving while under the influence) or doing something crazy,” Jones explained. (MMAWeekly)
So this close-up is considered keeping a clean image for yourself and not making the UFC look bad?
Getting pulled over for being intoxicated is something that happens to thousands of people every day in the USA. It’s become so ingrained into our culture it’s almost become something we just say in passing.
Jones didn’t make the UFC as a promotion or its brand look bad by crashing his car but definitely failed to protect the promotion’s image today by refusing to step in and help the company out after the UFC has invested millions of dollars into promoting him as “the next big thing.”
Once again Jones’ past comments make him look bad.
“I think I’m a good company guy. The UFC asks me to do anything and I always do it, and I never tell them no for anything. I’ve had to do more marketing than any other fighter because I say no to absolutely nothing. I don’t think most champs are like that.” (MMAWeekly)
In the same article, Jones even shares how the UFC structured the deal to help him out by giving him the potential to realize his dream of being sponsored by Nike.
“I think they realized I’m a company guy and they decided to sponsor me,” said Jones. “They put in the deal that if any mainstream companies come after this win that they will let me go, and I think that’s awesome.” (MMAWeekly)
Helping a single fighter grow and leaving the door open for Jones to drop the sponsor was very awesome of the UFC to do. And how does the UFC get thanked for their generosity?
By Jones becoming the ultimate flip-flopper in MMA by saying no to the UFC and in the process tarnishing the company’s image. How does it look to the general public that one of their champions doesn’t want to fight anyone that will damage his “brand?”
Apparently Jones has no issues with saying no when it’s beneficial to him because prior to this, the champion came out to say he didn’t want to fight Lyoto Machida because of the low PPV numbers from their first encounter.
Did Georges St. Pierre say no when the UFC matched him up against Dan Hardy or Matt Hughes for the third time? Did BJ Penn say no when he faced Diego Sanchez after only two wins in the division (with one being a split decision)? Did Junior dos Santos tell the UFC no when Frank Mir was inserted into the title picture with a questionable record?
The answer to all of those is “no.” Sure champions have discredited their challengers as not being worthy, but in the end they took the fight. Those men are considered “true fighters” and were/are willing to defend their hard earned titles to anyone who dared to try and take it away.
When the UFC came calling to ask Jones to do a favor for them after all they had done for the champion they were met with refusal. I’m not sure what Jones considers being a “company man” to be nowadays, but if this is it, Nick Diaz should’ve won “Employee of the Month” last October.
It’s one thing to look out for your own personal interests, but don’t attempt to feed everyone a bunch of lines to make yourself appear to be the knight in shining armor. It appears that the anti-Jones crowd just got a lot louder with the addition of Dana White.
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