Do you think Jones can handle a loss mentally?

[GluttonforPunishment]

You said bunch of nothing + how is he avoiding Aspinall and Pavlovich before they were top contenders he already said Stipe and retirement likely

Probably not going to get a sensical answer for that. Just stick to the narrative. Jones never beat anyone and ducks all people. To hell with the 15 championship fights that he won all of.

 

[Mongoosemk12]

I imagine something similar to OJ Simpson.

 

[krelianx]

He's 36 now. He has matured. He hasn't had any issues in a long time. When was the last time he broke the law?

Uhm the whole Vegas scandal was like two years ago.

 

[AmonTobin]

I don't think he wants to lose to a man that DC and Ngannou beat. Walking away undefeated is the biggest priority now that finances have been secured.

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

I think fans will take a Jones loss harder than he would. I could see him being all smiles after.

 

[theleerygoose]

Anything is possible and Stipe COULD win, but somehow I really doubt it. This question will probably go unanswered.

 

[g*r*b]

Part of me thinks he would wig out EPICALLY. So much of his identity seems tethered to the idea of being the Undefeated (*). He literally said "I really believe in my whole heart that I was chosen by God Himself to be an undefeated fighter... So not only do you have to beat me, but you have to beat the God I serve. I don't believe that I was designed to lose."

But then another part of me thinks that it's SO important to him, some mechanism for mental preservation will immediately kick in with a self-soothing rationale. My father had Narcissistic Personality Disorder, I observed that phenomenon plenty of times...

 

[Lost_Cause]

He’s rich and famous. I don’t care how he takes it mentally. That’s the job of his family and loved ones.

 

[Fjord]

Jones needs to face Pavlovich before retiring. I think he will. And then maybe he's tempted with a 10-20M offer to fight a cross promotion and aging Ngannou.

 

[RonDante]

He’s lost twice already, but people only called him out for one (reyes) and he disappeared for 3 years, so we know how he’d respond to a loss, disappearing again

 

[Blanqa Blanqua]

Year before last***

Not trying to split hairs but that's right at 2 years old now, not one. Sept '21.

yeah but I wrote that post a year ago bro

 

[20falarVerdades]

I guess we'll never know

 

[L0ki]

It seems like the way he addresses the Santos and Reyes fights, he feels like he might have lost those. It was weird seeing him want rematches with them.

I didn't think he lost the Gus fight, nor did I think he won it, at the time. Scored it a Draw. He definitely avenged that one in spades.

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

He's a bit of a sociopath. This is a guy that did a little dance when he found out he broke OSP's arm and was all smiles. I think he'll just chuckle and move on with his life if he lost and give a humble speech after. Meanwhile, everyone will meltdown online that he finally lost.

 

[Davidjacksonjones]

I understand why some are frustrated at Jones picking to fight old Stipe rather than fighting Pavlovich, Aspinall etc.
But Jones has literally not been in a non-title fight since 2011
Dude has fought multiple generations of killers at LHW, and is 35 now, if anyone deserves an "easy" retirement fight, its Jones

As to answer your question, I do feel Jones has put an enormous amount of pressure on himself to stay undefeated. His last official loss was nearly 5000 days ago, so I would imagine losing now would be a big deal for him. I believe Jones is the type who would be furious, and aim to get revenge at all costs. I have no doubt he will set up a rematch if he loses and will probably be more focused and determined than ever to avenge his loss

 

[elduckareno]

Jones is taking a calculated risk fighting Stipe. It's Stipe, one of the best HWs ever, but it's 41 year old Stipe who was knocked out badly last time out and hasn't fought for over 2 years and 7 months and hasn't won for 3 years and 2 months. Jones took 10 years to move to HW. He admitted he would never fight DC at HW. He ducked Big Frank and is studiously avoiding Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall. He's talking about retiring after this fight.

But this is still Stipe we are talking about. Over the hill, inactive, but still an outstanding wrestler and boxer with heavyweight size and power, 6'4" with an 80" reach and used to knocking out high level heavyweights. This could go wrong for Jones. What if Stipe EMBARRASSES him and stops him in the first round? Jones has never really been defeated, avenged DQ notwithstanding. He is talented but he has also doped, cheated and cherry picked his way to where he is now. He also has a history of criminality including drug abuse and domestic violence.

What do you think he will do if he loses to Stipe? His cherry picked fight gone wrong, 36 and clearly past his best, both belts gone and he will have to get through Stipe/Aspinall/Pavlovich to get the HW strap back. His technical 0 gone. Would he take the loss gracefully, take the money and ride off into the sunset with tarnished legacy? Would he stick around as a 2nd tier HW? Would he go purple pillow like Ronda? Or have some kind of breakdown involving drugs and law enforcement? Maybe we will find out.

It might bother until the marching powder kicks in

 

[elduckareno]

I understand why some are frustrated at Jones picking to fight old Stipe rather than fighting Pavlovich, Aspinall etc.
But Jones has literally not been in a non-title fight since 2011
Dude has fought multiple generations of killers at LHW, and is 35 now, if anyone deserves an "easy" retirement fight, its Jones

As to answer your question, I do feel Jones has put an enormous amount of pressure on himself to stay undefeated. His last official loss was nearly 5000 days ago, so I would imagine losing now would be a big deal for him. I believe Jones is the type who would be furious, and aim to get revenge at all costs. I have no doubt he will set up a rematch if he loses and will probably be more focused and determined than ever to avenge his loss

His losses to the police didn’t seem to bother him too much

 

[tritestill]

Naw, the man self sabotaged the majority of his career in an attempt, but he just kept winning fights. This point, think he's tied to winning within his identity. I mean, if the guy really took his career seriously, he would have unfathomable success.

 

[650lb Sumo]

Fear of their first loss, and it actually happening can mess with undefeated fighters' heads. Khabib retired at 32. Tyson Fury has 'retired' several times and is now taking joke fights and avoiding Usyk at 34 (Usyk is 36). Obviously Ronda had a complete meltdown after the Holm fight. Carwin won his first 12 fights by first round finish, then lost to Lesnar and JDS and retired. Jon seems like the kind of person who would not respond well to a loss, especially in the most high profile fight of his career and a chance that may never come again.

 

[tequilaboy]

The guy can't handle a win...