Media Jones on fighting Tom and Pav: “I have to look at it as a business, and not just speak out of pride”

[ryun253]

DC is already thicc af, maybe he can make a comeback.

 

[Soggust]

Some of us set a precedence where we praise fighters more for not losing than for taking a chance and seeing how far they can go at the risk of failing. Khabib is a great example and Jon paid close attention to this.

Right, there's just so little to gain against Tom and Sergei and like I said before, there's a precedence now where NOT losing is even more emphasized, sometimes overshadowing a greater list of accomplishments in exchange for a few losses.

Losses used to not weigh in as heavily. This is the "protect your legacy" approach. I can't help but think that how much praise Khabib got played a part in all of this. I know that's not gonna be a popular opinion and I'm likely to get some shit for it, but oh well. When you objectively look at the whole picture from a distance, you can see it.

Not trying to shit on your position, but I do respectfully disagree with this entire take lol.

Is there another fighter we can think of for being praised for an undefeated career, besides Khabib?
Or a better question - Is there someone you can think of who is being crucified over a loss outside of their prime? Or even a loss in their prime, for that matter?

Alex Volk just lost a tough fight in his prime against the #2 P4P fighter in the world with a solid performance. I don't see anyone claiming he's trash or his resume is ruined because of a loss in his prime.
Charles lost to Islam in his prime and people are still claiming Olives > Islam in the LW GOAT rankings, regardless of record.

I just don't see where this is happening at all. In fact, I'd go even further and say that losses are slightly UNDERVALUED currently.

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But in terms of Jon Jones - It's not like he's protecting some 9-0 or even 13-0 record like Khabib. He has essentially like 29 straight wins lol. Even officially, I believe he's at like 18 or 19 or some shit (record leader). He's also already lost his 0, technically.

I don't see the argument that getting knocked out, at the end of his career by a guy in a division above, is going to ruin his legacy.

 

[You Will Vote For Dreyga]

The fans are partially at fault here.

Some of us set a precedence where we praise fighters more for not losing than for taking a chance and seeing how far they can go at the risk of failing. Khabib is a great example and Jon paid close attention to this.

Why would fighters wanna take that chance then if it's gonna be so costly.

Exactly. We need to stop praising undefeated fighters.

Longevity and strength of schedule should take precedence in all GOAT discussions

 

[Dave Poodle]

Fancy worded way of ducking, no 2 ways about it. Just about any other fighter would be getting trashed relentlessly for saying this but a lot of people love giving Jon a pass on everything for some reason. Trying to convince those guys aren't worth fighting but there's value in dragging Stipe out of retirement is ridiculous.
If he'd just said he wanted to move up and fight Stipe that would be different but a champ being unwilling to fight any contenders is pathetic.

 

[BigGucciSosa]

Whenever he retires haters will just say he's ducking

 

[Zanmato]

I don't like him, but there's always going to be some other contender. These guys have to draw the line somewhere. It's frustrating they let him fit for the title when he had no intention of being an active champion, but good luck to anyone that gets out at the right time with cash in their pocket and without serious injury (even if they are Jones)

 

[HHJ]

If he fights Sergei and loses,no one is going to be grateful that he took the fight. Ppl just gonna laugh (like me) or say wow ur so stupid,u shoulda retired bro lmao.

If he wins he still wont get credit. Sergei will just be seen like gane,a bum until its convenient for him not to be.

With such options it's not so attractive

 

[Seahawks Fan]

Why fight young hungry lions with no names, when you can fight old man Stipe?

 

[jaberwock555]

LOL and Jones' fans want others to believe that he would have definitely fought Francis.

 

[Tweak896]

Really? You are really gonna suggest that when Overeem beat Pav at his debut would be the same as if Jon would beat him after Pav has gone on an insane winning streak full of KOs, in the UFC, and that if Jon would beat Aspinall, it would be the same as Blaydes winning by freak injury?

And people are still praising Overeem retroactively over that win, BTW.

Yes. Because in retrospect the win should have aged better, but did it? Nope, still more "he's too green for the win to matter". Had someone beat Jones early in his career (Hamill doesn't count), people would respect that win. I'm just saying how fickle people are with prospects with Gane as example and Aspinall or Pav wouldn't be different in aftermath. It's just strange how people twist everything once someone loses. Beating Ngannou is the only name that matters on Jones resume after Stipe. Although I guess if Jones broke Stipe's defense record the resume doesn't matter and Jones could fight both back to back and tie it.

 

[FlyingDeathKick]

Jones is good but I'll never view him as the legit Heavyweight champ unless he fights somebody like Sergei. He beat no wrestling Gane and is defending against 41 year old, hasn't won a fight in over 3 years Stipe.

 

[FlyingDeathKick]

LOL and Jones' fans want others to believe that he would have definitely fought Francis.

Jones and Dana are pushing that narrative hard. Jones even went to a PFL event to face off with Ngannou and pretend like he wanted that fight. Where was that energy while Ngannou was still in the UFC?

 

[cmw43]

LOL and Jones' fans want others to believe that he would have definitely fought Francis.

Francis had the belt, was regarded as #1 and had questionable Grappling.

Pav and Aspinall are both legit contenders but to the average fan they don't have much name value compared to Stipe and when you add in the fact that at this point Stipe is arguably the easiest fight of the three for Jones why would he take anything else?

 

[jaberwock555]

Francis had the belt, was regarded as #1 and had questionable Grappling.

Francis also had insane power.

Pav and Aspinall are both legit contenders but to the average fan they don't have much name value compared to Stipe and when you add in the fact that at this point Stipe is arguably the easiest fight of the three for Jones why would he take anything else?

Yeah it makes sense for Jones to pick the easiest opponent, just like it makes sense for MMA fans to call out his blatant ducking.

 

[SuspectChin]

Jones and Dana are pushing that narrative hard. Jones even went to a PFL event to face off with Ngannou and pretend like he wanted that fight. Where was that energy while Ngannou was still in the UFC?

Was also clearly highly faded during the encounter.

 

[storeybuckle]

Sounds like duck talk to me.

Sounds like Champ talk. Uncle Chael even mentioned that Bones was going to fight Pav

I think Jones would fight either guy, but lets be real. When Pavlovich lost, Overeem isn't looked up to because of the win. When Aspinall lost, Blaydes isn't considered top tier either. They are fights that if Jones wins can be dismissed as beating nobodies. He beat Gane yet now Gane was a white belt. If he beats Stipe, he's beat the best UFC HW with about the same mileage as himself.

Well said! Couldn’t agree more!

 

[storeybuckle]

Francis also had insane power.

Yeah it makes sense for Jones to pick the easiest opponent, just like it makes sense for MMA fans to call out his blatant ducking.

Lol at ducking. Seems like you don’t understand what a business is about. The UFC makes his decisions!

Pav and Tom are great and all, but Bones fighting Stipe is a better marketing/business move!

 

[jaberwock555]

The UFC makes his decisions!

LOL Jones called out Stipe much before the UFC made the decision.

 

[Goutfather]

Can't call yourself the heavyweight GOAT then, and people think he would have fought Ngannou lol

i’m convinced he would have beaten nggano, easily, just like he beat cyrille. he would probably beat aspinall and pav too. fwiw, stipe has a great shot against either of those guys as well.

but jon is right… he’s been fighting for a very long time, and he’s at that age where people slow down. if he keeps fighting, eventually someone will beat him just by being younger and faster. it would be a waste of an undefeated legacy. beating pav or aspinall doesn’t really add to his legacy much. they’re both below where gane was, and jon already beat gane. perhaps if he beats 3 more (after stipe), it would help his legacy because he sets a new record for defenses, but that’s a big commitment. stipe is the best hw with the most name recognition and accomplishments. it’s not an easy fight. if jon does this, he can say he beat all the best of his era.

now if stipe wins, he deserves credit. he’s always been underrated, counted out. he’s proven himself to be one of the best. if he wins, jon must get a rematch and win.

 

[Poatan Power]

Some of you guys are genuinely short bus material.

Jones and I are a month apart in age. For the last 3-4 months I've been training BJJ 5-6 days a week (scaling back my MT training) plus an intermediate weight lifting program in preparation for a tournament this month in BJJ. I also cut 15 lbs from 210 back in June down to 192 to weigh in for the tournament. I took 3rd in the 195 division in gi and nogi (and I'm 5'9, ouch) and I can barely get out of bed. I'm in way better than average shape for a normal 36 year old and I feel like I got hit by a car in a competition against a bunch of weekend warriors. I say all of this because I cannot imagine being JJ and having 11 fucking title defenses and hearing people say I'm "ducking" someone after being Gane and defending against Stipe assuming that goes good. I can't believe the level of athleticism he's keeping up at 36, it's insane. There comes a time to hang it up and pivot with life goals. You can't perform at that level forever or you end up like Anderson taking half a dozen losses in a row. I'd love to see him fight these guys, but not at the expense of seeing him go out like Penn, Edgar, Anderson, etc. it just doesn't make sense.

Jones knows when it's time and he appears to be accepting of the prospect. I know after this last few months and how I feel I can't even do more than 2-3 BJJ competitions a year because I'm gonna end up in a god damn wheelchair. These 20 something year olds with 18 years of wrestling and doing BJJ in the womb are phenoms. I can't imagine being 36 and fighting the best of the best in the world at it. So Jones has my admiration, but not just for that -- also for being honest about the fact that at this point he'd rather preserve his legacy than go out on his shield as a concussion survivor.