Has Jones helped or hurt his legacy since moving to HW?

[Domitian]

You know how Pereira's stock raised? He was put on cards that were stacked but he also had the advantage of having wins over Izzy. Tom has been booked on fight night cards for most of his UFC tenure so it's obviously been harder for him, had he gotten the PPV treatment like Alex, I'm sure it would be different. As for why Jon wants it? It's the easiest defense and Dana is along for the ride cause piece of shit recognizes piece of shit. Also, it's just another way to stick it to Ngannou.

Jon is a narcissist with an ego. He probably believes he beats both Tom and Alex and why wouldn't he? Why wouldn't he want the bigger money fight?

It's like asking Belal if he would want to fight Conor and have a cut of the PPV points or would he want to fight Leon for the title. I'm about 95% confident he would want the money over legacy while believing he beats both of them.

 

[VinceArch]

Jon is a narcissist with an ego. He probably believes he beats both Tom and Alex and why wouldn't he? Why wouldn't he want the bigger money fight?

Cause it's Jon that is always talking about his legacy while going for the easiest fights.

 

[JKS]

Helped so far. I mean he won the HW title and beat one of the best HWs from recent years in under 2 mins.

Anyway you spin it, what he's done can't hurt his legacy.

Let's see how it evolves. But I feel the only way he can hurt it is if loses.

 

[Herwald]

Helped. It allowed LHW to establish a few names. Glover, Jiri, Jan (Izzy helped as well), Alex, Hill. Those guys were/would've been background extras with Jon in the picture.

 

[mmacrisis]

It helped and when you factor in he doesn't make the fights Dana does, he hasn't done anything to Tom. If Dana said to Jones 'Hey Stipe is done he is retired you fight Tom in September' Jones would most likely step up and take. Because if he beats him people will be impressed, if he loses people will say he was a great LHW but not a true HW. Win win with some cash on top.

 

[Ludwig von Mises]

Ducked HW his whole career then finally moved to HW to duck the best HWs.

Scared to lose.

 

[felmmando]

It all depends on whether one believes he had a legacy to begin with or not.

Good point. The OP's question is meaningful to those who believe he does.

Some will cheer Jon on no matter what he does, some recognize him for the absolute disgrace he is.

Neither will likely change those views at this stage of his career imo.

You're right about those camps, but might there not be a third: those who don't mind his cheating but only admire it insofar as it's effective?
It's not hard for me to imagine someone who would cheer Jones if he roided to fight Aspinall and poked his eyes, but looks askance at Jones' refusal to fight active contenders.

 

[Ludwig von Mises]

Helped. It allowed LHW to establish a few names. Glover, Jiri, Jan (Izzy helped as well), Alex, Hill. Those guys were/would've been background extras with Jon in the picture.

Glover was washed up long before Jones moved to HW.

Jan has always been a journey man.

Hill woudlnt be in the top 15 a decade ago.

Jiri is fun.

Alex is fun too but wouldn't be top 10 a decade ago.

Jones left LHW once HW became the weakest division.

 

[10000yearsold]

All bullshit aside. Everyone was impressed with his win over Gane and everyone wants to see Jon’s next fight.

The question is rhetorical clickbait.

 

[laleggenda27]

To the casual audience, the UFC marketing machine, and Jones's fans it obviously helped. He can now be called a two-division champion.

To people who know better, it doesn't really change anything. Jones already had the best resume in the sport. He already had a checkered PED past that put an asterisk next to his accomplishments. And Gane was an easy style matchup for Jones.

 

[kingghidrah]

1 win in 4 years is the best way to add to your legacy