1. Jonny has now 3 fights that are considered gift decisions. Not good when for his legacy. 2. Jonny was previously accused for fighting old guys, veterans and legends past their prime. 3. Then he was accused of fighting MW journeymen. 4. Then PEDs. 5. Eye pokes and oblique kicks. 6. Private life jail worthy. Now this. 7. Jonny is still in the top 5 GOAT discussion, and top 3 most dominant ufc champions. If we are going to order the gift decisions, IMO Mareta was the worst. 1. Mareta 49:47 2. Reyes 48:47 (other possibilities: Reyes 49:47, 48:48) 3. Gus 48:47 (other possibilities 48:48) In terms of damage, it looked like Mareta delivered the hardest low kicks the LHW division has ever seen and it looked like Jones' legs were about to be broken, but no, Jonny was intact, yet Mareta broke every element in those knees and is still rehabilitating. Gus's punches are not hard, but they were many, Jones was all busted and beaten, broken down. In both Mareta and Gus fights Jones had to be carried out of the cage. Reyes won a clear victory and scored some hard blows, delivered more total strikes, but Jones was seemingly not damaged a lot. Jones had no answer to Mareta for all 5 rounds, Reyes gassed out in the 4th round so Jones took over at the end. Jones is declining. Usada and mileage has taken its toll. Its not that he is a bad fighter, but he is no longer so ahead of the pack. He slowed down. He is now on the same level of the average journeyman. But not to worry, he is still top 3 fighter. Its just that we are not used to seen him struggle, beaten and dominated. He still has iron chin and cardio, both unmatched in the division. This alone can win him the 4th and the 5th round and most of the fights in the near future. He can be a champion for 5 more fights. HW seems too far stretched for him now, I don't think he will have any success there, not breaking the top 5. Still a fan of the fighter Jones!
Jones definitely gets treatment unlike other defending champions - basically, any close round is not analysed at all, it's simply given to Jones with the mindset being "well X didn't visibly do enough to beat the champ, so I guess its the champ's round". No other champion gets this way of judging go in their favour. A case in point would be a guy I hated, Mighty Mouse, against Cejudo. Also bear in mind this was a champion the UFC wanted rid of..... When you consider that, and the fact the UFC actually moved an entire fight card to a different state so he could pass a drug test and fight, it does make you seriously wonder....
I agree. The other fights were competitive, but the only one that you could've made an argument for Jones actually losing to was Reyes imo. I watched the other 2 and thought Jones won. I watched the Reyes fight and knew it was close. I didn't know who they were gonna give it to. First time I've ever doubted who won in a Jones fight.
Jones isnt top 5, is IS the GOAT. Noone, including your favorite fighters, has done what he's done. Keep crying though, the tears have been amazing. You know you're the GOAT when people are so used you dominating, that they lose their shit in any close fight you have. Over 10 years. Has never been finished , never lost to another man in the octagon. Incels are just going to have to learn how to deal with it, sadly.
The only way to walk out of that cage with the belt is to finish Jones. I accepted that a while ago. It is what it is, and I’m not going to worry about it. His legacy is garbage to a majority of the fanbase already, anyway.
Unapologetic jones hater here. Hes a cheater in (eye pokes etc) and out (peds) of the cage, but realistically he only has one gift decision (this one). He won the gus fight based on the 10pt must system even tho he got beat up, the santos fight really coulda gone either way
Gifted decision or not none of them could finish him. You want that belt ? Put the man to sleep. You cant ? Then dont cry
Inocsistent biased judging is ruining the sport. We have so many championship fights that were ruled badly.
Personally I thought santos deserved the win more than anyone else. I even gave him the 5th. Reyes I was really rooting for but I remember thinking he kind of blew it in the end. Wasn't till I looked at sherdog i realized how many people thought he won. Gustafsson put up a good fight but I didn't think he won in any way.
Only sherbros dwell on that stuff and contrary to what many think, they do not represent a big portion of mma fans.
