Once again, a small-time UFC card delivered more than could be expected. Fight Night 38, which aired here in the states on UFC Fight Pass (internet subscription service), featured some exciting fights, and some strong performances. Alexander Gustafsson, for instance, looked every bit the world beater that he is when he dismantled power-punching Brit, Jimi Manuwa. He did exactly what a guy who arguably beat the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world is supposed to do to an unproven prospect: he dominated. He took the fight where he wanted to, whenever he wanted to. And he did not let the guy hang around for a decision. He saw an opening, and took it, knocking the Brit out with a vicious knee strike followed by uppercuts and hammerfists.
Afterwards, he said, "Jon Jones, I want my title shot!" And he deserves it. Meanwhile, Jon Jones Tweeted the following:
"Why not give the winner of Alexander and [Daniel Cormier] the winner of myself and Glover? Call me what you want but I can't be the only person who thinks that makes perfect sense. I see [Daniel Cormier] congratulating Alexander and making comments about waiting his turn now. I wonder if they're afraid to fight each other? People who don't like to think are quick to call me afraid. Think about it, I'm asking for the meanest of the two..."
Jon Jones has a point. It does seem that the UFC is saving the biggest and baddest for title fights. They're not necessarily knocking each other off the mountain. They're getting in line and waiting their turn. On the surface, that seems unfair. But by Tweeting these comments, Jones reveals why he is not the company man the UFC would like him to be. From their point of view--a business point of view, I might add--it makes zero sense to further jeopardize a guaranteed pay-per-view winner. What's the winner, you ask? Why, a rematch between Jones and the guy many people thought beat him: Alexander Gustafsson, of course!
That rematch will make truck loads of money. He's actually fortunate the UFC didn't force an immediate rematch since so many observers felt Gustafsson beat him. But they made Gustafsson win another fight first. Had Manuwa beat him, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
But by Tweeting those comments, Jon Jones is making another bad public relations move. Whether he is whining or not, it sure comes across as whiny. He is the champion of the world.
The champion!
We like our champions bigger than life, and badder than bad. We want our champions to demand a rematch if public opinion says they lost a fight. We want them to Tweet, "Oh, you think he beat me?!? Get him in the cage and I'll finish things once and for all!" Instead, Jones has spent too much time complaining about how the UFC is matching him up.
Again, he has a point. Jon Jones has faced the toughest opposition of any current champion, and (Gustafsson aside) has looked spectacular in the process. And it doesn't look to be getting easier. His next fight is against Glover Teixeira--an absolute monster. Nobody wants to fight the guy. But Jones is the champ, so Jones has to fight him. As good as Jones is, Glover has a real shot at beating him. As that fight draws closer, I will break it down closely, the same way I broke down the Lyoto Machida/Gegard Mousasi fight, complete with fight histories and fight clips.
If Jones defeats that juggernaut, he has to face the only man to ever put a beating on him. If you are Jon Jones, that doesn't sound fair, does it? The man deserves an easy fight every once in awhile, doesn't he?
No! He is the champion of the world. With that comes the responsibility to face the very best contender available each and every time out. It's what he signed up for, whether he knows it or not. So if he beats Glover "The Juggernaut" Teixeira and Alexander "I-kicked-your-butt-last-time" Gustafsson, he then gets to face none other than Olympic wrestler, and former heavyweight, Daniel Cormier.
In case you missed it, Cormier made his light heavyweight debut a few weeks ago, knocking out last-minute replacement, Patrick Cummins, in mere seconds. He had no problem cutting the weight, and looked as fast and as powerful as ever. Jones could not have liked that, since Cormier has better wrestling credentials than anyone Jones has ever faced, and he punches as fast and as hard as any of them (with the possible exceptions being Lyoto Machida's speed and Shogun Rua's power).
If he somehow makes it through that deadly gauntlet unscathed and with the title still wrapped around his waist, I don't know how you couldn't argue that Jon Jones is the greatest mixed martial artist the world has ever seen.
Did I just say that?
I did.
If he beats Glover, Alexander, and Daniel in succession, the man is arguably the greatest fighter in history. Just look at his accomplishments. He would have beaten the three men mentioned above as well as:
Lyoto Machida
Rashad Evans
Vitor Belfort
Chael Sonnen
Rampage Jackson
Shogun Rua
And a number of decent contenders like Ryan Bader, Brandon Vera, Stephan Bonnar, and Mark Hamill (DQ my rear end).
Five of those guys are former champions! Some of them are sure-fire hall-of-famers. Machida and Belfort are both going to be fighting for a title again soon! And Jones finished them.
So while I understand where Jones is coming from when he bellyaches about how the UFC keeps giving him the top guys to fight, I think he should just keep his comments to himself, put his chin down and continue beating his path to greatness. While he is facing absolute leviathans, he is also being given an opportunity to leave a legacy that may never be topped. Few fighters will ever get that chance.
Other champions don't have the long list of great fighters waiting for their chance to face them. Cain Velazquez doesn't. Renan Barao doesn't. Demetrious Johnson doesn't. Consequently, I doubt we'll be talking about them being the greatest fighter in history any time soon.
Do you?
Until next time.
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