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Let's get one thing clear. Assuming Jon beats Stipe, the UFC could get him to fight Tom. They're just going to have to pay him a shit ton. Obviously, they'd rather not do that, but they absolutely could make him an offer that he can't refuse. Everyone has a price. In fact, I think Jon ramping up the retirement talk could very well be a negotiation tactic. He knows how absolutely rotten of a look ducking Tom (ducking as in never fighting him, which we still don't know will be the case). It would be as bad, if not worse than what Canelo's currently doing with Benavidez, the only reason he's surviving such is because he has an army of incessant dickriders who would continue to support him if he committed mass murder. Jon has some loyal fans, but he doesn't have that.
As we know, Dana and Hunter do everything they can to avoid writing the big check. Emergency replacements are generally the only time they'll cave. Normally, this comes in the form of publicly shaming a fighter. However, Jon proved to them with Francis that that's not the way to get him to take fights. He said that paying him would get him there, and they never did that as their relationship with Francis hadn't crumbled yet and they assumed Jon was expendable. Not only does Jon have far more leverage now, but the UFC knows that this "he doesn't want the fight" shit would all but guarantee him retiring out of spite if anything. Frankly, I actually wouldn't blame him. Shaming the guys who put their brain health on the line for you as a negotiation tactic is disgusting. It's one of the biggest reasons that Dana makes me want to vomit.
So, what's the UFC's check avoidance strategy this time? Instead of challenging Jon's ego, they're inflating it. Dana's even done a complete 180 on the "he doesn't want the fight" line by saying that he "guarantees" Jon does. However, at some point, Dana's going to come to Jon at and say "I've had your back while everyone else is accusing you of ducking, so don't fuck me over.". Whether that works remains to be seen.
I get that a lot of people simply wan't to accuse Dana of delusion or Jon of having dirt on him because it's more fun for them and consistent with the idea of Jon ducking. His haters would be 100% happy with him refusing to fight Tom (all of you know that's true). Would be a blemish against Jon that they could cling to forever instead of risking Jon actually winning. However, I think it's pretty shortsighted to deny that there's more going on here.
As we know, Dana and Hunter do everything they can to avoid writing the big check. Emergency replacements are generally the only time they'll cave. Normally, this comes in the form of publicly shaming a fighter. However, Jon proved to them with Francis that that's not the way to get him to take fights. He said that paying him would get him there, and they never did that as their relationship with Francis hadn't crumbled yet and they assumed Jon was expendable. Not only does Jon have far more leverage now, but the UFC knows that this "he doesn't want the fight" shit would all but guarantee him retiring out of spite if anything. Frankly, I actually wouldn't blame him. Shaming the guys who put their brain health on the line for you as a negotiation tactic is disgusting. It's one of the biggest reasons that Dana makes me want to vomit.
So, what's the UFC's check avoidance strategy this time? Instead of challenging Jon's ego, they're inflating it. Dana's even done a complete 180 on the "he doesn't want the fight" line by saying that he "guarantees" Jon does. However, at some point, Dana's going to come to Jon at and say "I've had your back while everyone else is accusing you of ducking, so don't fuck me over.". Whether that works remains to be seen.
I get that a lot of people simply wan't to accuse Dana of delusion or Jon of having dirt on him because it's more fun for them and consistent with the idea of Jon ducking. His haters would be 100% happy with him refusing to fight Tom (all of you know that's true). Would be a blemish against Jon that they could cling to forever instead of risking Jon actually winning. However, I think it's pretty shortsighted to deny that there's more going on here.
