Jonny Jones has the personality and the skillset to become the next great fighter in the UFC.
LAS VEGAS -- It's getting ugly in the stands at the official workouts prior to UFC 126.
It's basically a photo op and a chance for hardcore fans to see the fighters up close prior to fight night, but now Jonny (Bones) Jones is taking off his sparring gloves, his t-shirt, and anything else he's brought with him, signing the article, and throwing it into the crowd like a trainer feeding the lions.
The people are diving for gear like receivers at the Super Bowl, fighting over it like two players at the bottom of a fumble heap.
Giving it away, giving it away, giving it away now. If Jones keeps going, we're going to see his bones. He'll be making his way back to his room naked, wrapped in a towel.
"You can never look down on someone for looking up to you," he says afterwards. "Three years ago I was just a normal college kid. I just try and remember that it can all be taken away. That's it's not really me - I always try and give God the glory for the things that are happening to me."
When you meet him for the first time, you are first struck by the humility. Weren't the greatest boxers also the ones with the most bravado?
No one talked more than Muhammad Ali. He floated like a butterfly, stung like a bee, and proclaimed seemingly every day of his professional life, "I am the greatest."
Sugar Ray Leonard made sport of his opponents in the ring with his footwork and hand speed. He clowned at the expense of his opponents, an act that brings the weight of the UFC world down on guys who try that in the Octagon.
Just ask Anderson Silva.
Maybe it all changes as this sport grows, but for now, these UFC fighters spend more time talking about the people who pay their bills -- the fans -- than any athletes in any sports I've ever covered.
"Whether I knock (Silva) out if I get knocked out, I'm here to put on a show," Vitor Belfort announced. "These fans, they spend thousands of dollars to come here.
"They leave their homes, they leave their cities, to come and buy expensive tickets to watch us. I have a lot of (appreciation) for the fans. It doesn't matter if you're going for me, for my opponent, whatever. I'm very honoured to have these guys here. I want to thank them."
| UFC 126 schedule | |||
| What? | When? | Where? | |
| UFC 126 weigh-ins | Friday, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT | Live stream | |
| UFC 126 live results | Saturday, 7:20 p.m. ET / 4:20 p.m. PT | Fight card | |
| Kid Yamamoto's UFC debut | Saturday, 8:25 p.m. ET / 5:25 p.m. PT | ||
| UFC 126 preliminary fights | Saturday, 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT | Sportsnet | |
| UFC 126 main card (PPV) | Saturday, 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT | Pay-per-view | |
| Post-fight press conference | Saturday, 1:15 a.m. ET / 10:15 p.m. PT (approx.) | Live stream | |
Of the young fighters shaping this sport, Jones, a gangly, freelancing 23-year-old who has learned some of his unorthodox moves off of YouTube, is The Next One. He has developed a style that reminds experts of no one else who has come before.
A former New York state champion wrestler, he carries the yoke as the rising light heavyweight -- the Sid Crosby of the UFC.
"It's a blessing," he says. "I appreciate that people see something in me. But it can be scary. It can be a lot. People call me 'Hype' a lot of times. They say I'm all hype -- hyping me up to me more than I am.
"Who am I? I just started training three years ago."
Who is he? He is the hunted who tries every day to convince himself that he is still the hunter.
"The fear of being exposed is what wakes me up in the morning and keeps me on the prowl," said Jones, who has a record of 11-1. "I can't get enough of positivity. Things that will give you a better outlook on life. Quotes on treating people kindly, and quotes about Christ. I think knowledge is power."
That cerebral kind of power is too figurative for the Octagon, however, where Ryan Bader awaits on Saturday. He is, by the way, undefeated at 13-0 in the UFC, and a former three-time PAC 10 champion and two-time Division I All-American as a wrestler for Arizona State.
"He's been rolling through people," Bader, 27, said of Jones, the nearly overwhelming favourite in this fight with an eight-inch reach advantage over Bader. "I'm undefeated, but he's been (winning) in devastating fashion. Taking people out in the first round. He's flashy, he's dynamic, and people like to see that.
"We're pretty much totally opposite fighters. I'm more basic, he's got his funky moves and all that. I relish the underdog role."
You can portray it however you want, but in the end, the predictions don't matter.
No one gets to bring a stack of press clippings inside the Octagon on Saturday.
In there, you are all on your own.
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