It was big and breaking news on a night otherwise reserved for anticipating that got disrupted by a small little intervention in Iran. And to even a casual fan of combat sports it was obvious that this was not a story that would be all that simple to parse.
CNN’s Issy Ronald reported it as matter-of-factly as possible this morning:
Jon Jones has retired, ending an illustrious career in which he laid claim to being the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time, UFC chief executive Dana White announced at a press conference on Saturday.
“Jon Jones called us last night and retired. Jon Jones has officially retired,” White told reporters, responding to questions about the UFC heavyweight division, which has been in stasis for months, waiting for Jones to decide whether to face interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in a unification fight. “Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC,” White added.
Yet as with almost anything that someone like Dana White touches, there is a storyline and controversy–folks on both sides of the aisle. And leave it to a site run by Dave Portnoy to get those candles burning on both ends.
BLEACHER REPORT’s Adam Wells dropped this bombshell from someone who knows Jones arguably as well as anyone:
Daniel Cormier, longtime rival of Jon Jones, believes the former two-division champion gave up to avoid a fight with Tom Aspinall.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel (starts at 1:45 mark), Cormier said in no uncertain terms that Jones “quit” because he didn’t want to step into the octagon with Aspinall.
And on the other end, an influencer-cum-combatant also weighed via via fellow B/Rer Doric Kim:
While many have criticized former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones for officially retiring without facing interim champion Tom Aspinall, another combat sports star chose to pay him respect.
After Jones announced his retirement on Saturday, Jake Paul took to social media with a simple message: Congrats Jon Jones. You the GOAT.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer is in the minority of positive messages toward Jones following his retirement announcement, but his assessment isn’t inaccurate. Jones was arguably the most talented fighter ever to step foot in the Octagon and reigned as light heavyweight champion for over a decade before transitioning to the heavyweight division and adding another championship to his mantle.
It would be simple to critique Paul merely on his grammar–not a unique quality among his fellow Gen Zers. But as CBS SPORTS’ Carter Bahns reported last night, one might also call into his question his standards for greatness:
Hours after UFC president Dana White announced heavyweight champion Jon Jones retired from mixed martial arts, the Albuquerque Journal reported Jones faces another legal issue. A criminal summons accuses Jones of leaving the scene of a traffic accident in New Mexico in February, and he faces a misdemeanor charge for the incident. He is scheduled to appear in court July 24 for a bond arraignment.
Albuquerque police responded to reports of a crash in February when they approached a woman in the passenger seat of one of the involved cars. The woman said Jones was the driver of the vehicle and that he fled the scene on foot. She called Jones, and police noted that the man on the line — who did not answer direct questions regarding his identity — “appeared to be heavily intoxicated and made statements implying his capacity to employ lethal force through third parties.”
Jones was reportedly interviewed in person days after the crash and said the woman in the car left his house intoxicated prior to the crash. She later corroborated that account and said Jones was the last person she remembered driving her car.
Legal issues and controversies littered Jones’ career, which was a legendary one inside the octagon. He faced suspensions, removal from the UFC rankings and vacated multiple titles for his failed drug tests, a hit-and-run conviction, a domestic violence arrest and other troubles.
Obviously, these reports are at the moment one-sided; Jones isn’t talking and it’s clear that he can afford the best possible lawyers if and when it’s time to do so. And when your job is literally to beat other human beings to a bloody pulp using hands, feet and anything else that will cause pain, it’s not a huge leap of faith to assume that other qualities that would define decency get left at the curb. I’ve even known some fans who that could apply to.
But through some more appealing fans I got to become familiar with Jones’ abilities, particularly when UFC was literally the only live sporting event going on when the “pandemic” first took root. I marveled at his physique and his ability to contort and leap, like a cross between a ballerina and a man-eating tiger. I had heard from those fans about some of those older charges and allegations. They were dismissive of most of it, rightfully claiming that every sport is filled with less-than-stellar examples of moral character. His ability to relegate others made it impossible for them to relegate him in their minds.
But judging by this most recent round of gamesmanships–even if one allows for the fact that an organization now under the same umbrella as WWE might have somewhat of a scripted element outside the ring–it makes it a little harder for me not to be more than a little skeptical that a) this “retirement” might not be all that permanent and b) it might be a good idea to get more familiar with the track records of some others like Aspinall.
After all, the last time I sampled goat I got sick as a dog.
Courage…