The news cycle for Jon Jones is slowly going dark, at least until his legal process plays out in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We don’t know what he’s facing there, and we don’t know if he’ll serve any sort of prison time.
But what is clear is that, no matter how things ultimately play out, Jones will be away from the Octagon for awhile. A new champion will be crowned in his stead, and the title might be defended more than once.
What happens when Jones is fit to return to the Octagon?
Today, Jeremy Botter and Jonathan Snowden—Bleacher Report’s version of Cagney and Lacey—get together to answer “The Question”: What should happen with Jones when he returns to the UFC?
Jonathan: When last we met in this space, Jeremy and I were debating exactly what the UFC should do about its Jon Jones problem. And after what I’m sure was a careful examination of both our arguments, the promotion decided that Jeremy’s course of action made the most sense. Jones was stripped of his title and suspended indefinitely while he and his legal team sort out what seems likely to become a pretty big mess.
But that, of course, is only a partial solution. At some point, when Jones has his legal and personal problems settled, it will be time to return to the Octagon, to resume what has already been a first-ballot Hall of Fame career.
So, Jeremy, once again we’ve been called upon to tackle the difficult issues. This time, the question is a simple one: When Jon Jones is ready to come back, what in the world do you do with him?
Jeremy: The answer on that is pretty clear, I think. Jones should be granted an immediate title shot upon his return.
That’s the only real course of action, particularly since the “so and so aren’t real champions” meme has already begun and will continue percolating until Jones is actually beaten by someone other than Matt Hamill. While there’s some truth to that, it’s also a bit silly. Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier didn’t ask for this opportunity; they were handed it on a silver platter because Jones could not keep himself out of trouble.
But still, it has validity. A man who never loses his championship, particularly when it’s the greatest fighter of this or any other generation, is still the champion until someone wrests it from him. As our good friend Richard Flair once said, to beat the man, you have to beat the man. Jones is the man, and he’ll remain so until someone beats him.
Jonathan: Listen, if Daniel Cormier beats Anthony Johnson, and I think he probably will, there’s no way you can possibly pass him off to the fanbase as a legitimate UFC champion. You just can’t—mostly because of the way Jones dismantled him. It was barely even competitive, the kind of one-sided contest few will forget anytime soon.
The UFC fanbase may walk in lockstep with Dana White in many areas. But I don’t think even the most ardent fan will see the Cormier–Johnson winner as anything but a placeholder.
In some ways, it takes me back to UFC 40, the pay-per-view that kept the promotion alive long enough for The Ultimate Fighter to truly save it. Before that, White and new owner Lorenzo Fertitta had worked hard to get the UFC back on pay-per-view and legal in Las Vegas. But results at the box office were disappointing. Fans simply weren’t buying this guy as the top dog.
Some of the issues with Tito Ortiz were systemic. There was no linearity to his ascension and no real reason for anyone to accept him as the best fighter in the promotion. He had never beaten any of the old guard and had only taken possession on the title after Frank Shamrock retired.
Who was Tito? What right did he have to call himself champion? Only a win over Ken was enough to really solidify his claim to the throne in the fans’ eyes.
This one feels the same way. Cormier and Johnson are both great fighters. But they aren’t fighting for anything but a bauble.
When the UFC brings out every past champion at some inevitable Hall of Fame ceremony, he can stand over next to Shane Carwin in the “kind of” category. Unless and until Cormier and Johnson walk that aisle and earn their championship in the cage. That’s the only title worth winning.
Of course, all this changes dramatically if Jones gets any real prison time. Say he walks the yellow-brick road to the land of Oz and spends 18 months in the clink? What then?
Jeremy: I think there’s a real possibility we don’t see Jones back in the Octagon for at least a year, even if he does not receive any kind of prison time. And what if he never gets his act together, continues getting in trouble and finds himself as a very unfortunate cautionary tale?
I think all of us hope that doesn’t end up happening. But if Jones goes to jail, or even if he doesn’t but is still out for more than a year, I can’t put him right back in for an immediate title shot upon his return. Not because he doesn’t deserve it, because he clearly does. From a fighting perspective, Jones deserves everything. It’s outside the fight where he struggles.
But I couldn’t give him an immediate title shot after a lengthy absence, and here’s why: because it’s not fair to his talent. If he’s out of the cage for a long time, the prospect of putting him immediately back in the Octagon with Cormier or Johnson is a scary one. Yeah, Jones handled Cormier easily the last time, but that was after a full training camp and maintaining a regular fight schedule for years. Walk away for 18 months (or spend time in jail), and stepping right back in there with Cormier, I think that’s a different story entirely.
I think the thing to do in that case would be a warm-up fight. Not because he needs to earn a title shot, but because he needs to get his wits back around him.
Jonathan: There are a couple of parallels that spring immediately to mind. The first, and more recent, is Floyd Mayweather, an obscure boxer who went almost 22 months between fights after a brief retirement immediately following his star-making wins over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton.
Mayweather, whatever you think of him, jumped right over the frying pan and into the fire upon his return, facing a very dangerous Juan Manuel Marquez in his first fight back in action. Of course, that was after some time off and some soul searching—not after an extended prison stay.
The other example? Only the most famous athlete of all time, Muhammad Ali. The Greatest of All Time’s public protest of the Vietnam War cost him his absolute prime as a fighter. On April 29, 1967, still just 25 years old, he was stripped of his championship and saw his boxing license suspended. He didn’t step into the ring again until October 26, 1970.
Jones didn’t lose his title for a cause. He lost it for a series of bad decisions. But the result may, unfortunately, be the same. Once again, we are losing the best fighter in the world at the height of his career.
We often wondered who could beat Jon Jones—it turned out the man capable of taking his title was staring at him in the mirror.
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