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‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin Says ‘I’d Love to See Jon Jones Get His Ass Kicked’

Less than three months before the most significant fight of Jon Jones’ career, an unlikely character in the realm of sport emerged to offer his opinion on Bones’ rematch with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 178.
During a candid interview on Monday’s editio…

Less than three months before the most significant fight of Jon Jones‘ career, an unlikely character in the realm of sport emerged to offer his opinion on Bones’ rematch with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 178.

During a candid interview on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, former professional wrestling star “Stone Cold” Steve Austin offered Ariel Helwani his opinions on each of the UFC’s nine champions.

Although Austin made many colorful remarks along the way, he spent the most time explaining to Helwani what he thinks of Jon Jones, MMA‘s pound-for-pound king and the UFC’s once-beaten light heavyweight champ.

I mean, his lifestyle is a little bit different than what he preaches. But, as a fighter, (he’s) premiere. And, God, in the light heavyweight division! And Gustafsson really handed him his ass and took him in the deepest water that he’s ever been in. So that’s going to be a hell of a rematch. Anyway, he kind of gets on my nerves because I think he’s living two lives. To a degree, yes (he’s a hypocrite).

The soon-to-be 50-year-old Austin, who retired from pro wrestling in 2003, offered mixed opinions regarding Jones’ larger-than-life persona.

Yeah, (he annoys me), but in a good way. I would love to see him get his ass kicked, because it’s going to take a hell of a man to be able to do that. I come from pro wrestling, I’m not a judge; but I think he (Gustafsson) did enough last time to get that victory. Some people agree, some don’t, nonetheless it was a hell of a fight. And we knew Gus was on his way up to be a superstar. That match made him a superstar. But, what that match proved to me about Jon Jones was that when he’s in deep waters, he had the heart of a champion. So, when I say some things about Jon Jones irritate me, I respect who and what he is inside that Octagon, make no mistake about that.

“Bones” will get a chance to silence his critics when he faces top-ranked 205-pounder Alexander Gustafsson in a highly awaited rematch at UFC 178 on Sept. 27 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Jones nipped Gustafsson in a much-debated unanimous decision at UFC 165 at the Air Canada Centre in September.

Although Jones surrendered his first career takedown in the bout, he outstruck Gustafsson, 137-114, including 134-10 in the significant strikes category.

Jones suffered his only career loss in his fourth UFC fight when he got disqualified while pummeling Matt Hamill with illegal 12-to-6 elbows at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale in December 2009.

All stats gathered via Fightmetric.com.

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Jon Jones Looking to ‘Dominate’ Alexander Gustafsson

For Jon Jones, success at UFC 178 won’t be attained by merely winning and defending his light heavyweight title.
He has to dominate Alexander Gustafsson on September 27.
It’s hard to imagine that a year has almost passed since Jones an…

For Jon Jones, success at UFC 178 won’t be attained by merely winning and defending his light heavyweight title.

He has to dominate Alexander Gustafsson on September 27.

It’s hard to imagine that a year has almost passed since Jones and Gustafsson’s epic light heavyweight clash at UFC 165. Both men expended every ounce of fight in their bodies for 25 minutes in arguably the greatest title fight in UFC history.

When the battle smoke lifted, Jones was left standing with his hand raised, but Gustafsson had carved out a niche in the UFC that would grow over the next few months. The brazen challenger was ultimately treated as the victor for going toe-to-toe with such a dominant champ.

Despite wearing the UFC strap, Jones feels detached from the iconic plate of gold. For months, fans and pundits have attacked his courage for delaying facing Gustafsson again. It is almost as if the MMA world has forgotten Jones effortlessly dispatching MMA legends and a plethora of top contenders to surpass Tito Ortiz’s record for light heavyweight title defenses.

Backed into a corner, the sleeping giant that is tossing and turning inside of Jones is ready to roar back to life and make the world remember why he is the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He had this to say during an appearance on ESPN’s MMA Live:

My biggest takeaway is just to train harder than I did last time, give it my full undivided attention. I believe if I simply do that everything’s going to work out.

…A successful showing would be for me to go out there and dominate. I’ve been able to dominate pretty much everyone I’ve ever faced except for Gustafsson in that first fight, and success for me is to not only win this fight but to dominate it.

Like Gustafsson, Jones learned a lot about himself in the first bout. Along with the rest of the world, he got a glimpse of his own grit and determination to fan back the flames of adversity while reaching up and claiming the proverbial brass ring.

The bout with Gustafsson may be his most criticized performance, but in some ways, Jones looks back on it as quite possibly his best showing as a professional fighter.

“In some ways, that Gustafsson fight was the strongest showing (of my career), to finish that fight the way I finished it and to display the heart that I did to remain being the champion, to beat Tito Ortiz’s record that very same night. I would give that fight as one of my top showings,” Jones said.

Greatness will once again be within reach when the lights dim and the Octagon door closes on September 27.

Who will be the one to attain it?

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.

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The UFC vs. Jon Jones: Did the UFC Win by Forcing Rematch with Gustafsson?

At UFC 178, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will once again face off against his most difficult opponent to date in Alexander Gustafsson. Since the end of their first Octagon meeting at UFC 165, in which Jones won by unanimous decision, the UFC and the majority of MMA fans had been pining for a Jones/Gustafsson rematch. Eventually getting their wish, the champion will defend his title for a second time against his Swedish counterpart on September 27.

The Champion’s Reluctance

After his seventh title defense and dismantling of Glover Teixeira at UFC 172, Jones wasn’t interested in a rematch against Gustafsson. In fact, Jones wanted to put his championship title on the line against undefeated and highly touted MMA fighter Daniel Cormier. In response, on June 2, UFC President Dana White stated to UFC.com (h/t MMA Junkie):

Just to clear up a couple things, people think we’re in contract negotiations with Jon Jones – we’re not. Jon Jones still has five fights left on his contract. So what we’re doing right now is trying to get him to sign the bout agreement for Gustafsson. He doesn’t want to fight Gustafsson.… Lorenzo and I have a meeting with Jones on Thursday to get him to sign the bout agreement, and he’s asking to fight Cormier instead.

Jones eventually relented and signed on to fight Gustafsson. However, in response, according to Andrew Ravens of MMA Frenzy, Jones stated:

Who’s more deserving? I would say Daniel Cormier has better accolades and the better record. He’s undefeated, and he’s beaten former world champions before…

…He was a world champion in the Strikeforce organization, so I would say Cormier. But, I think the fans want to see me fight Alexander more, and I think that’s what’s most important.

Irrespective of Cormier’s dominance and undefeated streak, the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion will realistically have to wait for a title shot until late 2014, at the earliest.

In the end, the UFC wins, utilizing heavy media tactics to get Jones to fight Gustafsson. A lot of hype surrounds this fight, as the champion struggled against his Swedish counterpart in their last meeting, having to be hospitalized immediately following the bout. Monetarily, the UFC capitalizes greatly on a rematch that the fans desire to see. Therefore, UFC 178 will most likely become one of the UFC’s highest-grossing pay-per-views to date.

Winner: The UFC & the Fans

Alexander Gustafsson’s Desperate Need to Secure the Title the Second Time Around

Gustafsson will enter UFC 178 as the underdog. If Gustafsson loses to the champion again, especially if it occurs in dramatic fashion, the consequences will be significant. The Swede would realistically be presented with two options: Move to another weight class or wait until the champion loses and fight for the championship once more (assuming he doesn’t lose in the interim).

Both are difficult options, putting him into the same class as Urijah Faber and Junior dos Santos, who are seemingly better than everyone else in their respective divisions, except the champion.

According to David St. Martin of MMA Fighting, Gustafsson recently exclaimed:

He (Jones) knows now, it’s a bad fight for him. I think I’m a little bit in his head. I know that I can beat him. I can take that belt and that’s what I’m looking forward to do. It’ll be a finish. I’ve done the distance thing before and I don’t [sic] do it again. A finish and I’m taking that belt. Get ready. Get ready, man. It will happen.

Gustafsson is more than confident in his abilities as he prepares for UFC 178. However, a second loss to the champion would prove profound and force the Swede to take major steps in reanalyzing his career.

Possible BIG Loser: Alexander Gustafsson

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Ranking the Remaining 2014 UFC Title Fights

Even without pay-per-view penchants Anderson Silva or Georges St-Pierre, the greatest MMA promotion on the face of the planet found a way to give its fans several memorable title bouts through the first half of 2014.
Whether it was TJ Dillashaw’s…

Whether it was TJ Dillashaw’s dismantling of reigning bantamweight champion Renan Barao at UFC 173, the back and forth battle between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler for the vacant welterweight strap at UFC 171, or Demetrious Johnson’s dominant, but routinely underappreciated, performance against Ali Bagautinov at UFC 174, the UFC has put on its fair share of jaw-dropping moments.

With six months left in the calendar year, Dana White and friends are looking to expand upon their already relatively successful year without either of the promotion’s biggest pay-per-view draws.

All of these fights garner the world’s attention, but only some of them will likely quench the thirst they’ve created within the MMA community.

Read on to see how the remaining 2014 UFC title fights stack up against each other.

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Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 2 Official for UFC 178, September 27th in Toronto

(Photo via Getty)

Jon Jones will attempt to make his eighth light-heavyweight title defense at UFC 178 (September 27th; Air Canada Centre, Toronto), in a rematch with Alexander Gustafsson. UFC officials confirmed the booking last night. Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 will take place almost exactly a year after their first meeting at UFC 165*, which Jones won in a thrilling but somewhat controversial decision. Since then, Jones defeated Glover Teixeira in an utterly dominant five-round assault at UFC 172, and Gustafsson TKO’d Jimi Manuwa, handing the Nigerian-English slugger his first loss.

The lead-up to this fight has already been loaded with drama, as Jones seemed to be dragging his feet on signing the bout agreement to rematch Gustafsson, then tried to argue for a fight against Daniel Cormier instead. But Dana White put his foot down, and here we are. As Jones explained in a statement:

(Photo via Getty)

“There was never an issue with a contract. I was traveling and finally got to Vegas and got to talk with Dana and Lorezno. We talked and September 27th, I’ll be fighting Gustafsson. I think Cormier is the tougher fighter, but the fans want to see me fight Gustafsson. There was never an issue with taking the Gustafsson fight. The issue was that my brother is getting married in July and I would have preferred a later date. I didn’t want to go this early and I would have preferred to go later in October or November. It is what it is. We have a date now, Sept 27th. This was a personal decision for me. I will be at my brother’s wedding and have a proper training camp.”

So will the rematch turn out any different from their first fight, or will we see Bones edge out the Mauler in another close war? Your predictions, please.

* Jones vs. Gustafsson 1 was also held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto — as were Jones’s previous title defenses against Vitor Belfort (in September 2012) and Lyoto Machida (in December 2011). Maybe the UFC has buyrate analytics showing that Jones is more popular in Canada than he is in the U.S. or something. Still, it strikes me as odd that Jones has never headlined a UFC pay-per-view in Las Vegas.