Look at my join date. And I followed MMA since the late 90's (and trained and fought from 2004-2007). I bet on Jones when he beat Shogun for the belt, my guy. I'm an old head, nobody is telling me things about Jones that I dont know. And people on this site were telling me I was stupid, that paying juice on a prospect vs a proven champ like Shogun was so dumb, etc. And I tried telling them that Jones was a generational talent. And Jones beat Shogun like an adult throwing a child around.
The problem is that people hold onto the past, and think what they saw before is what they'll see next time. I get the "until someone proves differently..." argument but it's not like we haven't seen Jones vulnerable. He should've lost to Reyes but got a robbery. Santos could've beaten him (although I did give Jones that one). Gus took him to the brink in their first fight. He's not an invincible superman.
And now...he's getting old. He's fighting in a weight class he's not really suited for. He's still talented enough to beat a guy like Gane who's a mental midget and didn't seem to want to be there. Or an ancient Stipe who hadn't fought in 4 years. That's so so so much different than fighting a younger, confident, bigger, faster guy with more power who can also grapple.
Again...is it possible Jones turns back the clock and looks markedly better than vs Stipe? Sure. Likely? IMO...no. And IF he looks like that, he's not getput of the 2nd round. He will get blasted.