SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
May - 2015
31
a situation where the cham-
pion was in real danger. Not
hyped up danger from the
UFC and the media about
how this most recent oppo-
nent was “his most danger-
ous ever” — but a real sense
that Jones could actually
lose the fight. Instead, fans
get former challenger Daniel
Cormier against Johnson for
the now vacant title. It’s not
the fight fans want, not that
it’s a bad fight — but it’s the
fight the MMA world at large
deserves, to rip off The Dark
Knight just a little. Bringing
the hammer down on Jon
Jones couldn’t be easy for the
UFC; he’s a polarizing cham-
pion, and polarizing figures
draw eyeballs. Yet it had to
be done all the same. Letting
him continue on, out of con-
trol, would send all the wrong
messages, and do nothing to
help the sport as a whole.
At twenty-seven years old, Jon
Jones is unquestionably im-
mature for his age, yet he re-
mains a long-term investment
for the UFC. Consider this: by
most yard sticks, Jones is only
just now entering his prime.
Entering his prime while leav-
ing a wake of vanquished
champions behind him, hav-
ing won, and won decisively,
in nearly all of his eight title
defenses since ascending to
the throne.
Yet for all of his storied suc-
cess in the octagon, turmoil
and repeated social blunders
seemed to follow Jones out-
side of it. The incident that
led to his title being stripped,
a car crash in which he is al-
leged to have run a red light
in his rental vehicle, result-
ing in a three car crash that
left a pregnant woman with
a broken arm, then fled the
scene on foot, leaving behind
evidence of drug use, is only
the most recent, most seri-
ous incident in a rash of bad
decisions. For starters, Jones’
history on the road is beyond
spotty. The wreck Sunday rep-
resents his fifth crash since
2008: there is, of course, his
infamous DUI incident back in
2012, where he wrecked his
Bentley, before that, crashes
in 2011 (head on), 2009 (for
which he was charged with
Unsafe Passing), and 2008
probably should have raised
warning bells. Five crashes
in seven years is approach-
ing out of control Hollywood
startlet numbers after all.
Then there were the social me-
dia missteps: insults to fans,
exposing himself to a woman
online (video of which, edited,
soon made the rounds in the
MMA media), alleged homo-
phobic comments. Somehow,
Jones managed to weather
each and every one of those
storms, and the UFC, believ-
ing that Jones was the star of
the show, stood by him, or in
some cases, remained silent.
For a time, these transgres-
sions could be dismissed with
the excuse of youth. He’s
young. He found fame over-
night. There’s a lot riding on
his shoulders. Since each trip
to the octagon resulted in
success, his work in the octa-
gon managed to outshine the
scandal outside it — until last
year. It’s difficult to pinpoint
exactly when things changed
for Jon Jones, because in all
honesty, he appears to have
been in a downward spiral
of his own making for some
time, at least in his personal
life, but if you had to pick a
point, it would most likely be
his brawl with Daniel Cormier
last August, at a media event.
That infamous encounter, for
which Jones rightfully took
most of the blame, resulted
in the loss of his Nike spon-
sorship (much like his most
recent incident has cost him
his Reebok sponsorship).
Shortly after, he was caught
on camera threatening to kill
Cormier. Most took it as just
a worked up fighter puff-
ing out his chest, but it still
showed that if there was a
lesson to be learned following
the brawl with Cormier, then
Jones hadn’t learned it.
Things went from bad to
worse when it was learned
Jones failed a drug test for co-
caine leading up to his bout
with Cormier at UFC 182
earlier this year. While many
focused on the fact that the
