Issue 123
December 2014
In this month: MMA’s HISTORY retold through FO’s archives - Holiday 2011
Some may call Jon Jones fake, however, when he sat down with Fighters Only in 2011 the light heavyweight king explained how he deals with critics
Is there a more divisive fighter than Jon Jones in the world of mixed martial arts? The UFC’s reigning 205lb champ has managed to split fans straight down the middle during his career. Some laud him for his creative and devastating skills while others loathe him for his antics in and out of the cage.
One of the key things his critics have latched on to is Jones’ ‘fake personality,’ accusing him of acting one way in front of the camera yet having an entirely different demeanor away from it. However, in a candid interview in our 2011 Holiday issue ‘Bones’ explained that the love and hate he receives is just part and parcel of being at the top of his profession.
“I look at it like this: it’s something I’ve learned (over the last few months). I use the 10-80-10 rule,” he told FO. “There are 10% of the audience out there who love you, no matter what. No matter what I do in the Octagon, no matter what I do in my personal life, no matter what mistakes I make, in my personal life or in fights, those people will always love you. If I fight badly, if the contest is poor, they are still there for me.
“Then there will be 80% who are on the fence... Then there’s the other 10%. That’s the group that are going to hate you, no matter what you do, no matter how good a person you can be, no matter what you say, they are going to hate you.”
With such hindsight already in his young career, one has to wonder whether Jones’ perceived cockiness is actually a reflection of his comfort with who he is as a man and a consequence of simply not caring about how he’s thought of by the fans, the media or the UFC.
For example, his press conference brawl with Daniel Cormier in Las Vegas this year was not befitting of a man many believe can be the UFC’s poster boy. However, according to Jones it’s something he’s never wanted.
“It’s kind of like I’m put up there sometimes as the UFC’s golden boy, and I don’t wanna be the UFC’s golden boy. I just wanna be me, you know. I don’t wanna be the future, I don’t wanna be the guy who can’t make mistakes and do no wrong or the guy who can’t swear in an interview.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a golden boy but that’s not why I’m here, I never asked to be called the future or this or that. Everybody else is putting all these tags on me and I’m just being me and the people that find me ‘cocky’ now or ‘arrogant’ or say this or that, I’m actually grateful for the negativity in my career.”
Despite his reluctance to be pushed to the forefront of the UFC machine, when you’re considered the pound-for-pound champion of the world people throwing shade on you is inevitable.
If anything, it’s a sign he’s reached the same heights as the athletes he admires the most. LeBron James, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan. All received their fair share of hate, but will go down in history as some of the greatest athletes of all time.
“My goal is to be the even better in my career. I want to learn from these champions and be the champion of champions.” Three years later, few could argue Jones is on the path to realizing that lofty ambition.
NOSTRADAMMAUS:
RETIRING ‘THE NEXT BIG THING’
Despite losing his title to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 and suffering from a crushing case of diverticulitis, many pegged Lesnar to manhandle the debuting Overeem due to his wrestling prowess. However, FO predicted Overeem would use the “complete package of kicks and knees one would expect from a K-1 champion,” which he did, leveling Lesnar in just under two-and-a-half minutes with a bevy of strikes to the body.
Elsewhere in the Holiday 2011 issue
THE BEGINNINGS OF A RIVALRY
For some MMA newbies, the rivalry between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier may seem relatively new. However, this beef has been simmering for so long it goes back to when Cormier was battling for the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix championship. When asked about his chances of facing AKA teammate Cain Velasquez, he instead turned his attention to the UFC champion.
“Our situation (him and Velasquez) is a lot different from Georges St Pierre and Carlos Condit. They’re training buddies; we’re training partners. Honestly though, if it came to that point and I’m in line for a championship fight why wouldn’t I go down to 205lb and fight Jon Jones for the championship?” Ask and you shall receive.
PREDICTION PROBLEMS
In our Pro Opinion section, we asked now-former champions Dominick Cruz, Gilbert Melendez and Vitor Belfort who would win in the highly anticipated featherweight bout between Mark Hominick and Chan Sung Jung. All three men wrongly predicted a win for the Canadian, who was knocked out in seven seconds by the ‘Korean Zombie.’ Better luck next time guys.
TEAM ALPHA CHAMP
Former FO columnist Paul McVeigh got a glimpse of greatness in 2011 when he competed alongside a young TJ Dillashaw on TUF 14. The now retired European explained how the current UFC champ “fought with a degree of composure that was lacking in a lot of the fights” and had a “great team behind him.” Although he went on to lose against John Dodson in the TUF Finale, three years later Dillashaw became the world bantamweight champ.
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