By Ryan Young
It’s been over a week since MMA’s version of “The Decision” played out with Jon Jones turning down a fight with Chael Sonnen on short notice that would have avoided the cancellation of UFC 151.
In the fallout the UFC light-heavyweight champion has heard every bit of advice possible on how to restore his popularity among fans.
My question is, why does he need to?
Look at NBA star LeBron James, the centrepiece of the original “Decision” and a fellow Nike endorser. James was lambasted when he picked up his ball and “took his talents to South Beach” for turning his back on his home-state Cleveland Cavaliers. The move was labeled as selfish and a sneak peek into the entitled world of “King James” who was destined for stardom from a young age.
While there’s no denying James knew the backlash that would ensue from his choice, he also knew it was the best move for his career and provided the best opportunity at being competitively successful. The Miami Heat became a championship contender and one of the most disliked franchises overnight, along with one of the NBA’s most watched teams.
Sound familiar? Jones’ decision certainly wasn’t fan friendly because it resulted in a cancelled event, but no one is in better position to decide who and when the champion is prepared to fight more than himself and his training team. Would he have beaten Sonnen? You’d have a hard time finding someone to argue against it. But perhaps Jones, much like his NBA superstar counterpart, knows a little more about what it takes to compete at a championship level than the average Joe Schmo.
This is the UFC though, and in many people’s minds Jones owed to the company that made him a star to do them a solid. I mean, he was originally given his big-break title shot on short notice, it’s the least he could do, right?
While there is some logic to that thought process, nothing is ever that crystal clear. If Jones had stepped up to the plate this time, does that make him even with the UFC? Could he turn down a fight next time if he felt ill-prepared without receiving the backlash that’s come out of all this?
The answer lies within Dana White’s willingness to throw him under the bus. At the end of the day, White is the UFC president and is going to do whatever is beneficial for his organization and product, Jon Jones be damned. “Bones” has been there for the UFC before (four fights in 2012, three of them pay-per-view headliners) and at 25 years old he isn’t going anywhere in the near future. But that didn’t stop White from teeing off on him.
MMA is an ever-growing sport, but the UFC is still very much sports entertainment. Sex, violence and conflict sell, even if it’s between the boss and employee. White might have a genuine dislike for Jones following this ordeal, but he also has a pretty good sense of what people want to see. For those wrestling fans out there, one of the most exciting and successful storylines ever happened to be the feud between WWE chairman Vince McMahon and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. While Austin was the fan favourite as the anti-boss, does Jones being the “heel” version of one make it any less entertaining or compelling?
The fact of the matter is you need to make people want to watch you fight, however you go about doing it. Josh Koscheck has been notable for years because he’s a perennial mouthpiece that people love to see get punched in the face (insert UFC 124 flashback). Sonnen almost literally talked himself into consecutive title shots against the two top fighters in the world, and his biggest career victory has come over Michael Bisping. Heck, even Floyd Mayweather, the highest grossing athlete of the last year according to Forbes, draws in fans by the thousands and his shtick just recently landed him jail time for attacking his ex-girlfriend.
While crossing the law is probably not the way you want to market yourself, and Jones learned that firsthand with his DWI conviction earlier this year, the fact of the matter is you don’t have to be “the good guy” to have people want to see you fight.
Coincidentally it was Jones’ former close friend and teammate Rashad Evans that nailed it on the head in this interview he gave to 790 The Ticket in South Florida this summer following his loss to Jones at UFC 145.
“I don’t take it personal, because the way I see it, people don’t see me as a person — they see me as a character. So, I can’t really get upset if they say something against me or feel a certain way about me because they don’t even know me,” Evans said. “…without the fans, I would just be somebody that likes to fight. The fans make you, so I don’t get mad at them for that. If they boo or cheer for me, it’s cool because they feel something.”
When Jones makes his way to the Octagon at the Air Canada Centre on Sept. 22 to defend his title against Vitor Belfort he’ll likely be showered by more boos than he’s accustomed to, but there won’t be any less number of people watching.
And isn’t that all that matters?
