Jon Jones may not be the best role model, but as a fighter, he is still the baddest man walking this planet.
Hordes of fans close their eyes wishing and hoping a knight would gallop in on a white horse someday to save them from the Jones era. Some would be equally happy with Jones slipping on a banana peel and saving them himself.
But reality can be hard to swallow, especially when it pertains to the most polarizing figure in MMA. UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones has turned back every contender thrown into his den with little compassion.
It was disturbing to see Lyoto Machida’s bloodied, motionless body crumple to the mat after being choked unconscious. The 27-year-old champ was malicious in going after Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s aged knees with oblique kicks. He also showed no empathy toward Glover Teixeira when locking up his shoulder and ripping away at the tendons.
However, the discord between Jones and MMA fans goes beyond the Octagon.
Rashad Evans, a former training partner of Jones’ at Greg Jackson’s MMA, was the first to out the UFC champ for having a “fake” personality, and people have been piggybacking off that notion ever since.
Jones certainly hasn’t made things easier on himself with shady behavior outside the cage. TMZ was the first to report him being arrested for a DUI in 2012 after crashing his Bentley into a pole in Binghamton, New York. This incident came just weeks after he defeated Evans in a title bout at UFC 145.
At a media conference call, a few days out from his UFC 182 bout with Daniel Cormier, Jones told Bleacher Report he was a “Christian” who wanted to “carry his image in certain lights that’s important for the people that he inspires and for endorsements.” A little over a week later, it was revealed that he had tested positive for benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite for cocaine, during a random drug test leading up to the fight.
Cormier put things into perspective when speaking about Jones on UFC Tonight:
This is a guy who has the ability to reach people at a different level. We all praise Anderson Silva for being the greatest fighter of all time, and we praise all of these other people but not many people actually can reach outside of the sport and outside of the world of mixed martial arts, and I believe that Jon is one of those people that can do that.
It’s just very unfortunate that these incidents keep happening after he has these unbelievable performances to where it kills his momentum. He should be a star amongst stars. He should go into places like the ESPY Awards and be as recognized as some of the greatest basketball and football players in the world, but because of the things he does outside of the Octagon, it holds him back.
The disappointment in Jones stems from him not measuring up to the role-model status we hoped he’d achieve, not from his abilities inside the cage.
There was nothing serendipitous about Jones’ ascension to the top of the pound-for-pound hierarchy. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to predict his evolution as a top-tier light heavyweight after watching his first few fights in the UFC.
Perhaps the most tragic truth in all of this is that there are some people out there simply wishing and waiting for this young man’s failure. This truth arrived long before Jones drove his car into a pole or failed a drug test. Simply put, the vast majority of Jones’ “haters” can’t legitimately explain their dislike for him, outside of holding onto claims made by Evans years ago.
When thrust into the spotlight, everyone is fake to some degree. It is within human nature to act accordingly to gain the love and admiration of the masses. There are very few who purposely seek to be the villain.
But at the same time, fans have to understand that those in the spotlight are real-life human beings capable of making mistakes. It would be ludicrous to question the severity of Jones’ conduct issues. The use of cocaine is a big problem that should be taken seriously.
At 27 years old, Jones still has a lot of growing up to do. Given his past hiccups, he is a broken role model in his current state, but this doesn’t mean he’s incapable of turning things around. Jones is the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world with a wide reach. He still has the opportunity to use his bad experiences as a teaching tool for all of the young people who once looked up to him.
Instead of waiting around for Jones to fail, why not hope for him to be a better role model and representative of MMA? We’re all stuck in this marriage with Jones as UFC champ for as long as he keeps winning.
We might as well make the best of it.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon and FanRag.
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