Widely regarded as one of the best to ever step into the Octagon, UFC heavyweight champion Jones’s career has been marked by unparalleled skill and, at times, a fair amount of controversy. But according to former rival Chael Sonnen, it was Jones’ transformation from a wholesome, ‘Jesus-loving” fighter into the “bad guy” persona that helped him rake in the big bucks.
Sonnen also spills on that pivotal moment when Jones leaned into his edgier side, a shift that Dana White and the UFC capitalized on for massive pay-per-views and heavyweight paychecks.
Ahead of his upcoming title defense against Stipe Miocic, Sonnen talked about when Jones was a Michael Jordan-esque figure in matters of skills but never had King James’ ability to sell tickets. And then a switch flicked in his head.
“He said, my own people have told me to embrace being the bad guy. How can you love Jesus and see yourself as the bad guy. Jon showed up to the press conference and did just that. The crowd went crazy for him, he embraced his heelside.”
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The perfect display of what Sonnen is saying could be seen in Jones in the build-up to his first fight with Daniel Cormier. ‘Bones’ got into fights, abused Cormier, and made it a must-watch fight for fans given the bad blood that was spilled in the build-up to the fight, something the likes of Conor McGregor later dialed up to 11 to become the superstars they are.
But Jones’ bad guy aura only works if he keeps walking into the octagon and laying people out, something he’s done once in 4 years now. Even before that, the Anthony Smith fight and the Dominic Reyes fight, he barely made it out of the octagon and was considered very lucky to have been declared the winner.
And now, he’s openly refusing to fight the interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall. So what does he want?
Uncle Chael knows…
Sonnen stated that when Jones moved up to heavyweight he asked the fans which fight they wanted to see, at that time, Miocic was the front runner and therefore, Jones chased that fight.
Now that a year has passed, there is a new name in town in Aspinall. Fans now want to see Jones take him on which frustrates the heavyweight champion as he has been training and preparing for Miocic, a fight that fans themselves picked.
Sonnen also added that deep down, Jones wants the approval of fans in the fights that he takes and secures the wins in. Whether or not he will get it from the Miocic fight remains to be seen.
But he certainly doesn’t have it for ‘ducking’ Aspinal. Twitter is right now, littered with the ashes of the respect Jones had earned with 20 hard years in the industry.
