Jon “Bones” Jones will not root for Phil “CM Punk” Brooks when the former WWE Superstar makes his inaugural trip into the UFC Octagon.
In fact, the UFC light heavyweight champion hopes the former professional wrestler wakes up looking into a doctor’s flashlight.
On the CBS D.C. radio show Chad Dukes vs. The World, Bones talked about Brooks’ UFC signing, and the 205-pound champ made his feelings clear.
He’s not a fan of Brooks’. He doesn’t like how the former WWE champion arrived on the UFC scene, specifically how he leapfrogged hard-working fighters to get a shot inside the Octagon (h/t VendettaFighter.com’s Jay Russell).
“I just think it’s unfair for the people who have been working their tails off to earn this opportunity,” Jones said. “That’s why I really hope the UFC gives him [Brooks] a real opponent, so we can all watch him get knocked out.”
Jones did concede Brooks’ star power and the WWE fanbase’s passion, though. Bones said he attended a WWE event earlier in the year and was blown away by the crowd’s intensity and knowledge.
“I went to my first WWE match this year, and the enthusiasm and the emotion on the fans’ faces, it was like they were watching real fighting. It was like they were watching the UFC,” Jones said.
Yet Jones’ biggest problem comes with how Brooks earned his opportunity. The former professional wrestler has zero amateur or professional bouts on his resume, and he cashed his ticket to the UFC largely based on name recognition and athletic potential.
For the thousands of up-and-coming fighters in the world grinding on a daily basis to earn a similar opportunity, this serves as a slap to the face, according to Jones.
“Every day I’m at the gym and I’m watching these kids training,” Jones said. “These guys have no money and they’re training their tails off, giving up everything to be a fighter—living in the gym, eating turkey and peanut butter, just bare minimum to chase this dream—and then a superstar like him just gets to jump into the UFC just because he knows the right people and has a name.”
Even for the most dedicated Jones haters, it’s tough to dispute this point.
Brooks did cut to the front of the line and pass over a considerable amount of more experienced, arguably more qualified, fighters. He is unproven and untested.
But he is also a big-time name, and the UFC’s dwindling pay-per-view numbers could use the shot of epinephrine Brooks can provide.
While no date is set for Brooks’ official debut, signs point toward late summer or fall of 2015 right now.
If Jones has his way, that will be the day Brooks suffers his first career defeat, and it will come via knockout.
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