Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Just when Jon Jones gets some credit to his name, he has to open his mouth and screw everything up.
Jones was riding high after defeating Alexander Gustaffson in an instant classic fight to defend the light heavyweight championship. Gustaffson gave the champ all that he could handle for five rounds, but ultimately lost a unanimous decision.
Praise was, and still is being thrown at both fighters for their performance. The fight had everything that it needed; explosive take downs, near finishes and tons of hard strikes, but the most important factor to come out of the fight was the fact that Jones had finally been tested and he had passed. Jones was pushed to the brink and was able to overcome, which is something that I did not see coming.
The fight had given Jones the opportunity to gain fans and silence critics — that is, until he opened his mouth this week.
Jones has said that he fought that fight at only 70 percent. Why did he have to do that? He just had to say something that made him feel better at the time, but it took credibility away from his opponents. I cannot stand when fighters do that. I understand that it might give the winner more credibility, but it definitely makes the loser look a bit more, well, unworthy. Whether or not that was Jones’ intention, it is what happened.
Jones also said that he clearly won the fight. I’m sure Jones believes that he did and I’m sure that his friends and family believe he did, but Jones needs to understand that a significant portion of the MMA community believes that he did not. Jones needs to understand that he should take into account what the public thinks, and the fact that he does not is just showing that he still has a ton of growing up to do.
