Filed under: UFC
There have been few champions in recent UFC history that have engendered such diversity of opinion as Jon Jones. In fact, there’s only been two in the same ballpark. One was Brock Lesnar, and the other is Jones’ next opponent, Rashad Evans. Both of those fighters have heard many boos in their day, but for very different reasons.
From the minute he made a serious run at an MMA career, Lesnar was a lock for polarizing reactions. First, there were the people who knew nothing of his decorated amateur wrestling background, choosing only to see him through the prism of his work in professional wrestling. Then, there were the others who resented his immediate elevation to major fights. And finally, there were those who were turned off by his aloof attitude and disinterest in engaging the MMA community past fighting.
For Evans, it was different. He was the little guy among heavyweights when he began his career on The Ultimate Fighter and easily could have turned himself into an underdog story, but instead he forged a first impression that many couldn’t and still can’t shake. He quickly tangled with the respected veteran Matt Hughes, and was initially seen as a showboater without the skills to warrant it.
But what about Jones?
Unlike Lesnar, Jones had no fame before coming to the UFC. And unlike Evans, he didn’t have a built-in audience from a reality show stint. So when he entered the UFC after just eight months of MMA training in 2008, he entered with a blank slate.
Early impressions were good. Jones opened up many eyes in his debut fight, a win over Andre Gusmao on just three weeks’ notice. He followed that up with a surprising win over Stephan Bonnar five months later, and from a career standpoint, he was off and running.
With each time out, it became more clear that Jones was heading for big things. He was beginning to finish fights, his fight IQ and confidence were growing, and the headlines were quick to follow. So was the backlash.
Like many reporters that travel to events, I’ve had the chance to speak to Jones on a few occasions, and find him friendly, smart and engaged. Even though fame has come quickly for him, he doesn’t appeared jaded by it. I remember him being the last fighter in the room at the UFC 126 press conference, just hanging out and making conversation. Even though fortune has come quickly for him, he doesn’t flaunt it. He doesn’t wear flashy jewelry, and last I’d heard, he’d yet to even spring for a new car.
In the cage, he’s parts spectacular and effective, stopping all of the last six fighters he’s beaten.
With his mix of personality and success, you think Jones would be a lock for a crowd favorite, but that’s yet to completely materialize.
Why?
He’s overrated. He’s phony. He’s cocky. He stretches the rules.
He’s been accused of everything. Let’s run down the laundry list: snitching, spying, swagger-jacking, fighting dirty, ripping apart a training camp, arrogantly signing autographs as the champion before he was one, arrogantly declining to sign autographs on replica belts as the champ after he was one, fighting no one, fighting past-their-prime someones, too religious, too fake, too manufactured.
He also doesn’t hand out autographed $100 bills, that monster.
Maybe it’s different with Jones because the bandwagon didn’t slowly stop along the way, picking up fans as it went. It was a rocket ride, and few had time to join before he blasted off. Maybe it’s because the media has spent time force-feeding Jones down their throat.
But the reaction, I just don’t get. You watch fights to be entertained, and few will disagree that he’s delivered the goods time after time. That’s why many boos have greeted Jones to his fights, but he almost always leaves them cheering. The funny thing is I’ve seen and read many people say that they like watching him fight, but they don’t like him. If you like watching him fight, you at least partially like him. You’re just rooting with your wallet and time.
The standard reason for disliking Jones is his perceived arrogance. Is he confident? Of course. Wouldn’t you be, if you were him? He made it to the UFC after nine months of MMA training. He was the champion at 23. He’s a millionaire today. Even with hard work, that type of progression makes him an outlier, a prodigy.
Most 24-year-old males couldn’t handle that meteoric rise. Jones has handled it just fine.
If you don’t “like” Jones, I’m probably not going to change your conscious mind, but if you appreciate his fighting style, the seeds of fandom are already planted. You’re Darth Vader just waiting to cross over from the dark side. And that’s a good thing, because rooting against Jones is cheering against progress. If you really want to see what the sport can be and where it can go, this is the type of talent that’s going to take us for that ride. This is the type of talent that will stretch the boundaries of what’s possible. You want evolution? Here it is, in a 6-foot-4 package. If he loses his way, if he loses his motivation, we miss out.
At some point, maybe those boos will turn to cheers for good. At some point, maybe he’ll no longer care about the negativity grenades lobbed his way. Maybe. But for right now, we need Jones. We need to love him or hate him. Sometimes, the two emotions are rooted in the same thing.
With a dominant submission victory over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at