Jon Jones would probably be more popular if he were a cocky white guy, according to UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
The reigning UFC light heavyweight champ has all of the makings of a bona fide star. He’s an unbelievably gifted athlete who is widely regarded as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
In front of the media, he carries himself with a kind of dignity and respect typically lacking from professional athletes thrown into the spotlight at such a young age.
The man kisses babies on the forehead for crying out loud.
For whatever reason, MMA fans have never really warmed up to Jones. His mere presence is usually an open invitation for unending hate and ridicule. It’s a mystery that has plagued the MMA world ever since he defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and captured the UFC title in March 2011.
What is the real reason behind all of the Jones hate?
Rogan believes the color of Jones’ skin, along with the perception of him being “cocky,” is part of the reason he is constantly treated as a villain. During a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast (NSFW language), Rogan delved into the topic of racism:
I wonder how much of it is racism. I really do…
You know why? Because I think they look at him as this cocky black guy, and I think a lot of people have an issue with that. I think that if he was a white guy and he was doing the same thing, a la Chael Sonnen, I think he would be way more popular. Chael was never the successful athlete that Jon is, but I think Chael was way more successful as a promoter than Jon is. And Jon has not been nearly as cocky or outwardly braggadocious as Chael was.
Sonnen was perhaps the greatest self-promoter MMA has ever seen. He gave fans a rare mix of pro wrestling entertainment and actual fighting. The difference between Sonnen and Jones is that Sonnen yearned to be a villain, often referring to himself as the “bad guy.”
Jones, on the other hand, has walked a narrow path hoping to one day be accepted by fans. Some will immediately point to the DUI incident a couple of years ago, but the Jones hate was in full effect well before he wrapped his Bentley around a pole.
Other issues come into play as well. Many are still hung up over Jones refusing to take a fight with Sonnen on short notice when an injury forced Dan Henderson to pull out of the main event title bout at UFC 151 two years ago. Jones not taking the fight resulted in the UFC’s first-ever cancelled pay-per-view.
There is also the fact that most of Jones’ early victories came over significant fan favorites like Shogun, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort. Perhaps some fans still harbor resentment from seeing this brash, young fighter effortlessly crush their heroes.
Top light heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier seems to echo a common belief that Jones’ persona is the problem. During an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter, Cormier called Jones out for being “fake” in front of cameras.
Rogan believes Jones has tried too hard to be what others want him to be, which has ultimately led to people questioning whether he’s genuine:
I think people want a guy who is so physically gifted and young and brash and black and rich, they want him to have more humility or fake humility, as it were. I think Jon’s trying that a little bit, and that’s one of the reasons [Daniel] Cormier was like, “You are so fake”…Cormier was saying that to him because I think he’s trying to counteract how people feel about him.
Jones was initially set to defend his title against Cormier in the main event of UFC 178, but he was forced to withdraw from the card after tearing his meniscus in his left knee. The light heavyweight title bout has been rescheduled for UFC 182 on January 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
A win would put Jones two title defenses behind Anderson Silva’s record for most consecutive title defenses in UFC history.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.
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