Jon Jones is one of the fastest-rising stars and arguably the top pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. The 25-year-old is the current UFC Light Heavyweight champion and has had little difficulty running through one of the toughest divisions in the sport. Last year, Jones won four fights all by stoppage and three came against former UFC champions (Rua, Jackson and Machida).
Despite his success and entertaining virtuoso style, Jones has not been a favorite among fans. Some view him as two-faced and smug, a guy that says all the right things in front of the camera but is really a phony.
Others question his tenacity. Jones is not a “macho” man and refuses to engage in trading pre-fight barbs with opponents. Instead he has always been quick to heap praise on each and every adversary he faces. Even when Jones found himself in the middle of a nasty feud with former sparring partner Rashad Evans he most often took the high road.
However, it was Jones’ recent decision that didn’t jibe well with an ever-distant MMA fan base. He was scheduled to defend his title against Dan Henderson at UFC 151 but Henderson was forced to pull out of the fight with a knee injury.
Jones was offered to fight Chael Sonnen on short notice but declined and thus the entire card was scrapped. Since the decision was announced to remove UFC 151 from the fight calendar, fighters, fans and UFC President Dana White have sounded off and blamed Jones and his Team Jackson coach, Greg Jackson for the event cancellation.
While most people are angry at Jon Jones for not fighting, here are five reasons he was wise not to fight at UFC 151.