Opinion: The Trouble with Jon Jones’ Broken Silence
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The Jon Jones interview with MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani was an interesting exercise in sifting through what’s real and what’s fake. Like the South Park episode that focused on advertisements placed in written articles as “sponsored content,” listening to Jones break his silence leaves you wondering if what he’s saying is genuine or if he’s simply trying to hit the right notes to win over the fans. It wouldn’t be so bad if we hadn’t been through this with Jones before.
For years, Jones has been a difficult read and not because the fans
and media have tried to read him; it’s more about what he offered
without being asked. He offered the image of the God-fearing man
who didn’t swear, loved his wife and walked the Christian path. We
didn’t ask for it. He just gave it to us. However, with every
fight, a chip off of his shiny armor began to fall to the wayside.
Eventually, we realized that the “Bones” Jones he was trying to
sell us was a far cry from who the man really was.
He had become his own worst enemy, allowing the pressure of trying to be a model champion outweigh just being himself. By the time he cracked earlier this year with the failed drug test -- he tested positive for benzoylecgonine, the primary metabolite of cocaine -- and the hit and run, everyone knew that Jones’ greatest enemy was the man in the mirror.
“I think I was being extremely fake,” Jones told Helwani. It seems earnest as he then stumbles over his own words to offer an explanation. “Growing up, I always looked at Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, before his controversy, I looked at these guys as the ideal champion. I thought I had to never swear in an interview … I thought I had to dress a certain way, act a certain way, be a certain way. I was afraid to be myself.”
You almost completely buy into it, but what he says next leaves you feeling as though you’ve been setup.
“I realized that I am a champion, with or without that belt,” Jones said, a smirk emerging across his shaven face. “I’m an imperfect champion. Champions come in different colors, different styles, different attitudes, different religions, different ways of living their religion, and it took me a long time to realize all of this.”
It felt rehearsed. It felt disingenuous. It felt like Jon Jones.
No man is perfect, but Jones’ insistence in portraying the model citizen was a sign of immaturity for the young titleholder. He manufactured an image he thought we wanted, never realizing that, for the most part, we’d simply accept him if he was honest. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the route Jones would opt to take. So here he is, in full “reboot” mode, looking to start over. The interview is littered with Jones tackling a number of issues. It appears that he accepts responsibility for his actions but kind of chalks it up to a blemish from which he will shuffle away. It’s nonchalant, a little pretentious and very Jon Jones.
Throughout the interview, he acts as if he was done wrong by the media, fans, fighters and the Ultimate Fighting Championship for shaking their head in dismay at Jones’ actions when in fact he’s the one fully responsible for what he did. Like a fighter who won on a technicality due to his own slip up, Jones wants to attack them like they are to blame. He blames Daniel Cormier for waking up the monster inside of him, and he blames the UFC for not really caring about him. He kind of understands why people turned their back on him, but he has a vendetta against them for doing it. It’s somewhat arrogant, quite a bit bitter and very Jon Jones.
When he tells Helwani that he’s “not a coke guy,” it just sounds ridiculous. He owns up to being a pothead, because, you know, marijuana use is something a lot people will defend, but cocaine? Nope. Jones would rather chalk it up to a one-time mistake than own the idea that he may have dabbled in the designer drug before. You get the feeling that there are lies that Jones will take to the grave, no matter what. Even if the truth would set him free, holding onto the lie is a fight he’s determined to win.
It sucks because a lot of us want to love Jones. The problem is that we don’t know if he loves his fans back. Even though the UFC will likely set him up for an immediate rematch with Cormier to reclaim the world title he never lost, Jones still seems to have a bone to pick with the organization. For whatever reason, he felt inclined to shovel dirt on the promotion’s name for allegedly allowing a juiced-up Vitor Belfort to fight him at UFC 152. It’s easy to cast the organization as the villain; it’s a business and doesn’t really care to choose its contractors over the bottom line. First and foremost, the UFC is going to protect its investment. The fighters, unfortunately, end up being pushed aside as product rather than people.
Jones tells Helwani that he’s going to “bring it up” with the UFC, but isn’t he doing so in this interview? It’s hard to tell exactly how far he’s willing to go to fight those he believes wronged him while attempting to absolve himself of as much of the blame for destroying his own public persona as he can. Here’s the thing: Most fans don’t care if you win every fight in the cage and outside of it. All they want is to feel like they can trust you, even if they can’t, and honestly, it’s still quite difficult to trust Jones.
The interview simply felt like a propaganda tool to hype up his return rather than giving us a look at the man stripped down to his raw emotions. Just like in the cage, he’s cold and calculated. He’s still Jon “Bones” Jones.
Andreas Hale is a content producer for Jay Z’s LifeandTimes.com and editor-in-chief of PremierWuzHere.com, as well as a frequent Sherdog.com columnist. Check out his archive here.
The Jon Jones interview with MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani was an interesting exercise in sifting through what’s real and what’s fake. Like the South Park episode that focused on advertisements placed in written articles as “sponsored content,” listening to Jones break his silence leaves you wondering if what he’s saying is genuine or if he’s simply trying to hit the right notes to win over the fans. It wouldn’t be so bad if we hadn’t been through this with Jones before.
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He had become his own worst enemy, allowing the pressure of trying to be a model champion outweigh just being himself. By the time he cracked earlier this year with the failed drug test -- he tested positive for benzoylecgonine, the primary metabolite of cocaine -- and the hit and run, everyone knew that Jones’ greatest enemy was the man in the mirror.
With his recent reinstatement, Jones has resurfaced to address his
turbulent past. The one-hour interview had many fight fans
wondering what was manufactured and what was sincere. The manner in
which he addresses his facade toward the end of the interview is of
particular interest because of the tonal change.
“I think I was being extremely fake,” Jones told Helwani. It seems earnest as he then stumbles over his own words to offer an explanation. “Growing up, I always looked at Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, before his controversy, I looked at these guys as the ideal champion. I thought I had to never swear in an interview … I thought I had to dress a certain way, act a certain way, be a certain way. I was afraid to be myself.”
You almost completely buy into it, but what he says next leaves you feeling as though you’ve been setup.
“I realized that I am a champion, with or without that belt,” Jones said, a smirk emerging across his shaven face. “I’m an imperfect champion. Champions come in different colors, different styles, different attitudes, different religions, different ways of living their religion, and it took me a long time to realize all of this.”
It felt rehearsed. It felt disingenuous. It felt like Jon Jones.
No man is perfect, but Jones’ insistence in portraying the model citizen was a sign of immaturity for the young titleholder. He manufactured an image he thought we wanted, never realizing that, for the most part, we’d simply accept him if he was honest. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the route Jones would opt to take. So here he is, in full “reboot” mode, looking to start over. The interview is littered with Jones tackling a number of issues. It appears that he accepts responsibility for his actions but kind of chalks it up to a blemish from which he will shuffle away. It’s nonchalant, a little pretentious and very Jon Jones.
Throughout the interview, he acts as if he was done wrong by the media, fans, fighters and the Ultimate Fighting Championship for shaking their head in dismay at Jones’ actions when in fact he’s the one fully responsible for what he did. Like a fighter who won on a technicality due to his own slip up, Jones wants to attack them like they are to blame. He blames Daniel Cormier for waking up the monster inside of him, and he blames the UFC for not really caring about him. He kind of understands why people turned their back on him, but he has a vendetta against them for doing it. It’s somewhat arrogant, quite a bit bitter and very Jon Jones.
When he tells Helwani that he’s “not a coke guy,” it just sounds ridiculous. He owns up to being a pothead, because, you know, marijuana use is something a lot people will defend, but cocaine? Nope. Jones would rather chalk it up to a one-time mistake than own the idea that he may have dabbled in the designer drug before. You get the feeling that there are lies that Jones will take to the grave, no matter what. Even if the truth would set him free, holding onto the lie is a fight he’s determined to win.
It sucks because a lot of us want to love Jones. The problem is that we don’t know if he loves his fans back. Even though the UFC will likely set him up for an immediate rematch with Cormier to reclaim the world title he never lost, Jones still seems to have a bone to pick with the organization. For whatever reason, he felt inclined to shovel dirt on the promotion’s name for allegedly allowing a juiced-up Vitor Belfort to fight him at UFC 152. It’s easy to cast the organization as the villain; it’s a business and doesn’t really care to choose its contractors over the bottom line. First and foremost, the UFC is going to protect its investment. The fighters, unfortunately, end up being pushed aside as product rather than people.
Jones tells Helwani that he’s going to “bring it up” with the UFC, but isn’t he doing so in this interview? It’s hard to tell exactly how far he’s willing to go to fight those he believes wronged him while attempting to absolve himself of as much of the blame for destroying his own public persona as he can. Here’s the thing: Most fans don’t care if you win every fight in the cage and outside of it. All they want is to feel like they can trust you, even if they can’t, and honestly, it’s still quite difficult to trust Jones.
The interview simply felt like a propaganda tool to hype up his return rather than giving us a look at the man stripped down to his raw emotions. Just like in the cage, he’s cold and calculated. He’s still Jon “Bones” Jones.
Andreas Hale is a content producer for Jay Z’s LifeandTimes.com and editor-in-chief of PremierWuzHere.com, as well as a frequent Sherdog.com columnist. Check out his archive here.
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