-
Jeff WagenheimGAME
That is inevitable Jon Jones will end up as the heavyweight champion of the world. When Jones choked Ciryl Ganes in just 2 minutes 4 seconds on a Saturday in Las Vegas to claim the vacant UFC belt, it fulfilled a prophecy — didn’t it? A long time ago, an omen began that Jones was bigger than the light heavyweights could handle.
Jones’ greater power than in real life was evident when he first stepped into the Octagon nearly 15 years ago and began touring with his 205-pound friends, including a long line of veterans future champions and Hall of Famers. He stands taller than almost every competitor to him, and his wingspan extends to an insurmountable length. Jones matches often resemble those of athletes from different weight classes.
This weekend at UFC 285, though, Jones picked someone his own size — or at least very close to it. Jones weighed 248 pounds the day before, half a pound heavier than Gane, a career heavyweight boxer. That means Jones, back in the cage after three years away from the sport, weighs 43 pounds more than he had stepped on the scales before all 11 of his record title defenses in the world. 205 pound class. It’s like he’s a whole new man.
And one thing about Jones remains unchanged. His massive measure of 205 pounds has never been limited by his physical stature. He always shows it more clearly in a metaphorical sense, the way he captures the big moments and thrives on them. Jones’ swagger was and still is big enough to swallow the sport. And in this weekend’s comeback, he hasn’t balked at his latest epic moment.
Jones put on a great performance of both its dominance and brevity. Stepping out of a heroic welcome from the cheering crowd at T-Mobile Arena, Jones took the time to soak in the moment, stopping by the cage to hug his father, brothers and fiancee . He stepped inside the cage for the first time in 1,121 days and cycled through the center, just like the previous times. After being introduced as “the only one” by Bruce Buffer, Jones pointed out why those words weren’t exaggeration.
The fight didn’t go on for a minute before Jones overpowered Gane, and within half a minute he was already knocking out the Frenchman. Jones then tied the sitting Gane to the cage, rendering him helpless before drowning in the chokehold of the guillotine that made “Jonny Bones” champion once again.
“God, I’m so excited,” Jones said after jumping on top of the cage to celebrate, then climbing down to pick up his father and carry him around, both of them beaming. “I worked for this company for a long time. Many people think I won’t even come back. I read it all the time: ‘This guy will never come back again’. But I was faithful to his goal.”
Winning the heavyweight championship the way he did, after a long reign at lightweight, will invigorate him as the greatest boxer of all time. Many considered him a GOAT, but some observers – myself included – leaned to the other side because of Jones’ multiple performance-enhancing drug violations. However, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has since shifted target columns to acceptable levels for some substances, to the point where Jones’ drug test results won’t get him banned from the environment. legal today. Including that, aside from this championship in the sport’s most important weight class, it’s getting tough to knock Jones out of the GOAT talk.
Along with the discussion of who is the greatest ever, there is also the issue of who is the greatest of the present. Saturday’s win over Gane makes Jones the UFC heavyweight champion, often carrying the title of “the ugliest man on the planet.”
But it’s complicated.
Francis Ngannouwho recently left the UFC after a contract dispute, also made a strong statement, based on his long streak of knockouts, including more fights Stipe Miocic made “Predator” the champion. However, Ngannou’s last appearance in the Octagon was a five-round decisive match against Gane, whom Jones finished in two minutes. Jones wins that comparison and soon there may be another comparison where we can judge him against Ngannou. UFC has pointed out that Jones’ first title defense will be against Miocicso let’s see how the new champion performs against the old one.
At 35, Jones is bursting with sublimation.
Of course, there are downsides as well. Just like Jones always has a way of making us hold our breath, he also makes us hold our breath predicting his next bad behavior. Three times he was stripped of his UFC title. He has been suspended three times for doping violations, plus one in connection with his arrest following a car crash that injured a pregnant woman. Jones was arrested several times, including on domestic violence charges and twice on suspicion of drunk driving. Throughout his career, Jones has shown himself to be a master in the art of self-inflicted career sabotage.
At this point, as a fight card led by Jones is underway, the arena sound team should put aside the regular UFC “Baba O’Reilly” opening. As a public service to ongoing fans who love Jones’ periodic assurance that this time he’s a new, better, more mature man, the show will open with another Who song, “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”
But this is not the time to be so bleak about a future likely to be tainted by Jones’ downfall, even if his dark past shows it’s as inevitable as his own. She rose to the top of the weight class this weekend. It’s been an incredible night ahead of Jones’ return and his ability to not simply start over where he left off but elevate his game. Who would have guessed it was possible?
Jones has re-established himself as a champion among champions. He is truly unique, and as long as he can balance atop a hill with the spotlight shining on him, the sport of MMA will be enriched by his presence.
