This is What the UFC Feared All Along

...and what they did to themselves: A fighter bigger than the organization.

There was Silva, GSP, BJ Penn, etc. but there was never an athlete like Jones to come along and get a huge American Nike deal, be the object of affection from Basketball and Soccer stars, "Undefeated", have brothers in the NFL, be a "Christian Man" with a past turmoil (dead sister [I don't say that carelessly, my heart truly goes out to the Jones family]), a blind mother, Bud Light commercials, bringing over a lot of black fans (it is what it is).

They had their meal ticket. This kid was the future. He was the chosen one who was going to be the greatest ever with a squeaky clean image and make the UFC a legitimate sport in the eye of Americans. ESPN spots, late night shows, etc. Jones wasn't a gimmick or stereotype of an angry young man from the hood who found his fortune fighting; he was a humble middle class kid who just cared about being great.

Now, he's in rehab. DUI. Fighting in public. Going after kids on Twitter.

Jones fans can complain about double standards and how other fighters have done worse. It's true. They have. And more will. But Jones was treated as the exception.
Most importantly, he viewed himself as the exception. The role model. The guiding light.

So when Dana is on tv saying stupid shit, being hypocritical; it's all by his design. He did this. He made a fighter bigger than the UFC, the thing they've avoided at all costs until Jones, and now he has to adhere to Jones or lose the company a lot of money and reputation.

I can't crucify Jones for being flawed. I can't even crucify him for being a disappointment to everyone who has believed in him and invested time and money into him.
But I can crucify the UFC for putting their investors, employees, other fighters and most importantly the fans in the back seat just to make sure this guy is still considered a hero.

I hope he gets it together and comes back. I'm sure he will.
But this has just been a giant blow to the sport and it's evidence of what happens when you harbor narcissism in one individual and throw a company on his shoulders.

 

yup. I honestly agree

Dana's every move is to try and avoid this, and now it's here. I hear ya.

 

Also, this is why Dana wants this guy to "embrace the heel" role.
He knows there's only so long they can keep pretending this guy is a role model and an upstanding citizen. He's one more event away from being a figure of sympathy if they keep trying to convince us this 27 year old is the epitome of humanity. If he plays up the heel, they can stop being disingenuous and start saying "Jones is Jones".

 

Did your post count get frozen?

 

The whole thing is actually seeming to blow over now. If the t/e ratio were put into proper context and actually scrutinized more closely by the media, that would be the real shit storm.

 

Yup.

They can't dump him cause someone else would just make more money and get more attention off of him.

They're stuck doing damage control for everything he does.

 

Good answer! lol

 

cliffs pls

 

That's a pretty good point you make, although GSP was a huge figure in himself.

 

I don't think Jones got to the level of being too big in the company honestly. I look at more like they don't feel like throwing out an investment. He never even got near the top of ppv heap or even general public awareness of previous fighters. The ufc spent a lot promoting him and needed to protect that investment but Jones is making that impossible.

 

lol @ even suggesting Jones is bigger than the UFC.

 

At least it is a far more entertaining way to watch the UFC struggle than a boring lawsuit. No matter what TV dramas would have you believe, lawyering is an awfully boring job.

 

What is this UFC everyone keeps talking about? Is that the organization where Jon Jones fights?

 

I thought about GSP before I made this, but the thing is, GSP didn't really care to be that big it seemed. Even the way Rory described him when he was on the JRE. The guy just wanted to fight and compete. His fame seemed to be something that came naturally and he couldn't give a shit less if it went away. You know, GSP got more shit than pretty much every single champ and never took it personally. Can you think of GSP getting mad at fans? Addressing fans in a bitter manner after a fight?

It seems like nearly every post-fight interview, Jon is addressing his "haters" "doubters", etc. This guy has been obsessed with being liked, revered and respected since around the Vera fight. It's almost psychopathic. I know you have to be a little crazy to be as great as Jones is, but he is obsessed with his greatness outside of the cage as well as in. He's obsessed with the cars and the prestige and the celebrities as much as he cares about being the best fighter in the world.

He wasn't ready for all of this emotionally. I can't blame him. I probably would have fucked up worse than he has. The UFC shouldn't have made him into a meal ticket though.

 

The big question is what happens regarding the low T levels. You can't sweep that shit under the rug. The specter of being a cheater is looming over Bones right now.

I wonder if he can just say "I lost my balls in a freak skydiving accident and have been a hypocritical jerk ever since. Please forgive me, guys."

 

Sure... but his name and his unarguable SKILL make him impossible to cut him. The problem is the same, and the UFC sure can't be held responsible for his skill.

 

All the more reason for me to believe he would resort to cheating. He wasn't ready for this - nobody could be. I think he would stop at nothing to keep everything he had.

 

WHy is the UFC rolling out the red carpet for him then?
GSP's gone, Anderson is no longer realistically relevant by his own standards, Penn got massacred, they can't make Cain into the star they want, Pettis is always inactive, Jose is a curmudgeon who refuses to speak English and do American press. It goes on and on.

Jon Jones IS the UFC superstar. He's the one in Bud Light commericals, on ESPN, etc.

They've created the biggest star they've ever pumped out. And he's failed to keep the image they want

 

Jones>UFC

Jones>GSP, BJ and AS according other sports stars and ad execs

Jones>UFC future without him

Jones messes up multiple times = hypocritical

Jones' holier than thou personna

Dana covers UFC ass

Jones still a hero to UFC brass

TS wishes Jones luck

Did that about cover it TS? lol