Jon Jones’ UFC 235 Return Is Throwback To An Era Now Missed
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will attempt to make his first title defense since January 2015 when he meets Anthony Smith in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., March 2, 2019) UFC 235 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Bones” just returned to the spotlight by winning back the belt he never lost with a dominant TKO of Alexander Gustafsson at December 29’s UFC 232. The win settled the running rivalry of his closest UFC title defense, which says a lot about Jones’ overall legacy. He was pushed to the limit in the first fight with ‘The Mauler.’ More than five years later, he made it look easy. But there are the outside-the-cage incidents.
Jones found himself in trouble with every sort of drug both recreational and performance-enhancing. The DUI early in his reign as champion, the positive test for cocaine and the one-day stint in ‘rehab,’
Jones’ Historic Run
The competitor who probably should be GOAT (and maybe is) is looking to make up for lost time and defend his belt several times in 2019. It starts with Smith, the rising striker who has finished three straight fights at light heavyweight since last June. The fight will be on just over two months rest for “Bones,” an unheard of amount for most UFC champions these days. In fact, it’s a mini throwback to his unreal run of 2011-2012 where he won the belt and defended it four times.
The enigmatic great fought six times from February 2011 to September 2012. We just don’t see that from the elite fighters of today and probably won’t again.
It seems a little soon to be all “back in my day” about something that happened in 2012, but take a look at how much the UFC has changed since then. Many fans of today may not even have followed mixed martial arts at that point. But many did, and they remember that time well. We were witnessing history in the making whether we realized it or not. Champions just don’t fight and dominat with the consistency and precise success Jones did during his first run. In truth, as fans, we were spoiled.
These days champions seem to call their shots and wait around for the best possible payday, or easier match-up, or whatever. Jones defended against the next man up, and that’s what he’s doing here. It seems weird to write it, but the whole champ-champ thing has become played out in around two-and-a-half years since Conor McGregor kickstarted it in 2016. It’s no longer a special occurrence that guarantees pay-per-view buys. All it really does is grind divisions to a halt.
No Champ-Champ For Jones (Yet)
Jones could have easily called out his biggest rival in heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier for a
It hearkens back to a more consistent era when champs like Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, and then Jones defended their belts successfully and often.
Of course, it could all fall apart with one Jones indiscretion. You would think he’s on his last chance yet he always seems to sort things out and climb back in the cage. One more failed drug test or arrest would be a mess. At this point we can’t predict it would actually be the end of “Bones,” however. So we need to respect his approach to fighting in 2019, even if we question his eligibility to fight.
I won’t deny Jones’ controversy. It’s unfortunate. He’d already
I also won’t deny that Jones’ current path of defending his title is a breath of fresh air. It’s a throwback to an era of MMA we may have perhaps taken for granted. Let’s enjoy it for as long as it lasts.
