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The hate for Jones reminds me of the hate that Muhammad Ali got during his career. A lot of people don't remember how absolutely loathed Ali was, and by in large it was for the same reasons why Jon is "hated". His skill was never in doubt. He was the first of his kind. Prior to Ali coming onto the scene, Heavyweight boxers were not quick and athletic. They were very flat footed and lumbering fighters choosing few powerful shots, rather than fighting on the move and countering. Ali's fighting style was compared to those of the lighter weight classes. Ali also was defying conventional wisdom of the "die hard" fans who were use to seeing the same thing for decades, then all of a sudden, there was this new thing that nobody could explain why it was so successful, just that it was. Muhammad Ali was also defeating the "old guard" who had been at the top of the Heavyweight division for years, and making it look effortless at such a young age. He was also hated for his public persona. Outside of a few people, nobody knew who Cassius Clay and eventually Muhammad Ali was. So people hated on him for those reasons.
This is so parallel to Jon Jones it's almost funny in an ironic sort of way. Nobody can question Jon Jones' skill. He's hated on by the die hard fans, because he's beating people in extremely convincing fashion and making it look easy. He's only had one hard fight to date and that was against Gustafsson. He's defying conventional wisdom. Statistically, a guy as young as Jon Jones, as "lanky" should not be as successful as he is, but yet here he is, unquestioned pound for pound fighter in the world. He's taken out a who's who of MMA names and done it without breaking a sweat: Stephen Bonnar, Vladimir Matyushenko, Brenden Vera, Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort. Guys who are big time names and done great things in the course of their careers, made to look like total amateurs by Jones. His style is so unique. Despite being a wrestler, he's become one of the best strikers in MMA. And his "public persona" has been called fake, simply because people don't know Jon Jones outside of what they are given by the media. They don't know Jon Jones as a person outside of one minor slip up with that DUI. They don't know Jon Jones the father, Jon Jones the husband, Jon Jones the family man, Jon Jones the brother to two NFL all-pro defensive players, or Jon Jones the son. NOBODY knows any of that. The only thing that people know, is Jon Jones the MMA fighter.
All these similarities between Jones and Ali. The catalyst for Ali becoming a loved fighter, was that he was essentially brought down to his lowest point professionally due to something outside of boxing which affected his boxing career, which was the Vietnam War and his refusal to be inducted into the US armed forces. It stole 3 years of his prime fighting for his very freedom, and in the process, allowed people to see Muhammad Ali the man, instead of just Muhammad Ali Boxing champion of the world. Then when he finally came back, he looked mortal. The heir of invincibility was gone. The Louisville Lip was gone and replaced by a man that people wanted to root for. He was forced to grow up outside of boxing in order to become a man inside of it. Will a similar catalyst need to occur for Jon Jones to be completely loved by the fans if there is one to be had? Where something outside of his MMA career comes and takes everything away and he will be forced to "grow up" and mature, then when he returns he rises back to take what was his and along with it the respect and adulation that he desires?
This is so parallel to Jon Jones it's almost funny in an ironic sort of way. Nobody can question Jon Jones' skill. He's hated on by the die hard fans, because he's beating people in extremely convincing fashion and making it look easy. He's only had one hard fight to date and that was against Gustafsson. He's defying conventional wisdom. Statistically, a guy as young as Jon Jones, as "lanky" should not be as successful as he is, but yet here he is, unquestioned pound for pound fighter in the world. He's taken out a who's who of MMA names and done it without breaking a sweat: Stephen Bonnar, Vladimir Matyushenko, Brenden Vera, Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort. Guys who are big time names and done great things in the course of their careers, made to look like total amateurs by Jones. His style is so unique. Despite being a wrestler, he's become one of the best strikers in MMA. And his "public persona" has been called fake, simply because people don't know Jon Jones outside of what they are given by the media. They don't know Jon Jones as a person outside of one minor slip up with that DUI. They don't know Jon Jones the father, Jon Jones the husband, Jon Jones the family man, Jon Jones the brother to two NFL all-pro defensive players, or Jon Jones the son. NOBODY knows any of that. The only thing that people know, is Jon Jones the MMA fighter.
All these similarities between Jones and Ali. The catalyst for Ali becoming a loved fighter, was that he was essentially brought down to his lowest point professionally due to something outside of boxing which affected his boxing career, which was the Vietnam War and his refusal to be inducted into the US armed forces. It stole 3 years of his prime fighting for his very freedom, and in the process, allowed people to see Muhammad Ali the man, instead of just Muhammad Ali Boxing champion of the world. Then when he finally came back, he looked mortal. The heir of invincibility was gone. The Louisville Lip was gone and replaced by a man that people wanted to root for. He was forced to grow up outside of boxing in order to become a man inside of it. Will a similar catalyst need to occur for Jon Jones to be completely loved by the fans if there is one to be had? Where something outside of his MMA career comes and takes everything away and he will be forced to "grow up" and mature, then when he returns he rises back to take what was his and along with it the respect and adulation that he desires?
