- he lost the favor of his employer
- he lost the respect of his peers
- he lost the admiration of a lot of fans
- he made himself less marketable
- he hurt his legacy and will be remembered at least in the short term as the opposite of an "anytime, anywhere" fighter and champion
He was definitely within his right to refuse a fight with Chael. But I think he lost more by not fighting then he would've by losing to Chael which was an incredible long shot.
What if anything can he do to redeem himself as a champion and fighter? It seems it will be a long road back.
I think his best career move now us to move to HW and go after that belt.
Sure in a couple months no one will remember this except a few hard core haters whom everyone will tell to shut the fuck up every time they bring it up
Tough because he's proven to be insincere.
A few well-placed elbows in the next fight and most will have been forgotten. 
I don't respect him as a fighter any more.
No doubt he is an amazing athlete, but to me, it's never been about unbeatable human beings..It's been about the mentality of a fighter...Which he doesnt have.
If keeps he beating the shit out of people, he'll keep making money. He can still draw if he's hated. Look at Mayweather.
The only way that Jones gets hurt is if his performance falls off in the cage. That's pretty much the same situation that he was in two days ago.
fightcity - Sure in a couple months no one will remember this except a few hard core haters whom everyone will tell to shut the fuck up every time they bring it up
Everyone = fightcity
frederic -A few well-placed elbows in the next fight and most will have been forgotten.
This. He's always been a fairly disliked fighter, so this hasn't changed much.
Come UFC 152 he'll probably run through Vitor in dominating fashion and we'll be back to square one, if not with a few less Jon Jones fans.
(It's worth noting that I hope Vitor runs through JBJ)
Train Judo - I don't respect him as a fighter any more.
No doubt he is an amazing athlete, but to me, it's never been about unbeatable human beings..It's been about the mentality of a fighter...Which he doesnt have.
I guess the fact that a guy who doesn't have a "fighter's mentality" can lay waste to the flagship division of the biggest promotion in MMA with just a few years of training is more proof that this isn't a real sport.
How can you say he lost any of that? its baseless speculation
As long as he keeps destroying people it won't matter. I'm still gonna watch him fight and I'm sure you are too, but before today I supported him against all the haters, he lost me as a fan today. I hope somebody knocks his block off. WAR VITOR!
The thing is he wants to be The Goat more than he wants to fight. He wants to be loved and revered. That will be damn tough to accomplish now.
Oh yeah, fuck Greg Jackson too. He takes the best fighters in the world and turns every one of them into point fighters.
Scramble City - How can you say he lost any of that? its baseless speculation
- UFC and DFW crushed him in the press release and call today.
- fighters destroyed him on twitter and this website today
- the threads here speak for them selves
How is that baseless speculation?
WAR Vitor!
The real GOAT stepped up and tried to save the event knowing the ramifications.. the wanna be goat didn't think it was a big deal.
Yes, his reputation will feel this one for a while.
Zen -
- he lost the favor of his employer
- he lost the respect of his peers
- he lost the admiration of a lot of fans
- he made himself less marketable
- he hurt his legacy and will be remembered at least in the short term as the opposite of an "anytime, anywhere" fighter and champion
He was definitely within his right to refuse a fight with Chael. But I think he lost more by not fighting then he would've by losing to Chael which was an incredible long shot.
What if anything can he do to redeem himself as a champion and fighter? It seems it will be a long road back.
I think his best career move now us to move to HW and go after that belt.
Having the favor of the UFC lasts only as long as you are a good lapdog. Being a lapdog sucks. Getting a paycheck is nice. Its a rough tradeoff.
His peers respect means jack shit when they have never been in the same situation as him and had to make the decision he did. If his peers lose respect for him over this, then they were never his peers in the first place.
The admiration of the fans that was lost was even more fleeting than the favor of the UFC. Its just sad that the fans are buying into all of the blame bs that the UFC is putting out. 6 months ago Jones was the greatest ever according to the UFC and most of the fans ate it up. Now hes the biggest villain of all time and the fans are taking it in, hook, line and sinker. Jones shouldnt miss that lost admiration and it could effect his pay as a result, but lets be honest here. People will probably still pay for a chance to "see Jones put in his place" where they once paid to see Jones succeed.
As for his legacy, it will be exactly what the UFC tells the common fan it is. The majority rules.
This situation is horrible for Jones. It was a no win situation for him. Did he choose the right path, I am not so sure. The UFC is a huge media machine and its fan base believes all the hype/propaganda they put out. They have and will continue to turn on Jones just like the UFC wanted them to do. He might have been better off taking the infinitesimal risk of losing to Chael versus defying his overlord masters. I really feel sorry for him, top of the world at so young and now this low just as fast. It will be a true test of character for him to rebound from this. I hope he succeeds. I would rather see a man succeed than fail, contrary to human nature.
I really dont understand why the UFC is doing this to Jones/Machida. I understand the tactics and the desired result, but is blaming them and having the fans turn on fighters you built up, going to generate more revenue? They are already losing enough from the cancellation of 151... why lower the stock of your champ and a top contender by placing the blame on them? The UFC has been pretty business savvy up to this point, I see this as a big misstep with the retirement of all the old time favorites happening.
- He'll regain the favor of his employer once he becomes an even bigger draw than he is now
- He'll become an even bigger draw as soon as he drops the rehearsed "good guy" image that the fans see through and he embraces the hate (ala Floyd Mayweather)
- He'll regain the respect of his peers as soon as he starts choking out top contenders again
- And this won't tarnish his legacy one bit. As soon as he finishes Belfort in fashion this whole episode will be an after thought.
MMA fans have no memory. Every fighter out there is one flashy victory away from being a fan favourite, and one blunder away from being shunned by the entire MMA community.
MMAObserver - - He'll regain the favor of his employer once he becomes an even bigger draw than he is now
- He'll become an even bigger draw as soon as he drops the rehearsed "good guy" image that the fans see through and he embraces the hate (ala Floyd Mayweather)
- He'll regain the respect of his peers as soon as he starts choking out top contenders again
- And this won't tarnish his legacy one bit. As soon as he finishes Belfort in fashion this whole episode will be an after thought.
1 is dependent on #2, and #3 is dependent on #1. That's an awful lot of variables in play. #2 is the most and that one isn't guaranteed, and is actually unlikely.
UGCTT_Zaph - MMA fans have no memory. Every fighter out there is one flashy victory away from being a fan favourite, and one blunder away from being shunned by the entire MMA community.
Jones had "flashy" wins against Machida, Rampage, Shogun, Bader, Vera, and a "loss" to Hamill that was flashy too. Dude still gets booed at weigh-ins and every time he walks in a cage. MMA fans have pretty decent memories. It's easy to remember that you don't like someone.