There seems to be a growing trend of fighters getting dazzled by the bright lights of Hollywood, and thus far it hasn’t exactly been a wonderful experience for fight fans. In this interview with MMA H.E.A.T.’s Karyn Bryant, Jon Jones talks about his recent meeting with top execs at Warner Brothers to discuss potential movie roles.
There are two main reasons that one might be opposed to films starring MMA fighters. First off, by and large, they suck. Until very recently, fighters were relegated to roles in ‘C’ and ‘D’ list films, basically anything that was the third or fourth straight-to-video sequel to a hit from twenty years ago or a straight-to-video knockoff of a hit from twenty years ago. But even if the movie is a summer blockbuster, we’re stuck with reason two: these films will interfere with fights. Filming a movie takes a lot of time, and timing is everything in the fight game. If Hollywood takes a shining to Jones, it’s terrific for him and it would undoubtedly raise some mainstream awareness for our sport, but as a greedy fan I don’t want to see important fights delayed any longer than they absolutely must be.
The good news? Dana White says Bones can’t act. According to the Baldfather, he had to step in for Jones and deliver his line–”Here we go!”–when the Light Heavyweight Champ choked on the set of their recent Bud Light commercial. Not exactly a supportive thing to say about your champ when he’s trying to start up an acting career, unless…say, you don’t think Dana’s opposed to that, do you?
As for Jones’s stage presence, you make the call. Will he be quitting his day job anytime soon?