He's the new heel of the sport, it actually will help his ppv numbers ironically enough.
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.
^This. Look at what happened with condit earlier this year. Dude went from having a reputation as a killer to being branded as the new Kalib Starnes because he fought a tactical fight against a dangerous opponent.
Kobe recovered from RAPE charges. Lebron recovered. I think jones needs to lose 
Damasta Shonuff -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.
Great post. He is an amazing fighter and watching him is a pleasure. What I don't understand in this whole debacle is how he didn't think he would walk through Chael and move on to the next one. I really think Jackson owns some of his guys to the point of stealing their spirit and confidence and having them believe more in his boring ass gameplay and master strategy than in their own skill, talent and work ethic.
Phisher -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.
^This. Look at what happened with condit earlier this year. Dude went from having a reputation as a killer to being branded as the new Kalib Starnes because he fought a tactical fight against a dangerous opponent.
Maybe some of us start seeing a pattern we've seen before. The GSP pattern. You know, someone that was hungry, that would go for the kill at any and all costs. Then watch them turn into point fighters that loses more fans than it gains because you're protecting a brand, a title, or a shot at a title. It applies to more than just Condit. Benson Henderson and Dominick Cruz come to mind. Some of us get tired of leg kicks and jabs for five rounds.
"After Jones smashs vitor to pieces you guys will all be back to boot licking along with Dana White"
Jon Jones can have a bitch's attitude and still win fights. You can lick his boots all you want, I wont be joining you.
Wow, I have never liked Jones, but the response of people online doesn't comport with reality. Jones had every right not except a last minute change in opponent and Jackson owes an obligation to Jones best interests not Dana White's. I starting to think that maybe Cindy O recently gave birth to a thousand children and that every one of them are now posting online. 
formerspook -Phisher -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.
^This. Look at what happened with condit earlier this year. Dude went from having a reputation as a killer to being branded as the new Kalib Starnes because he fought a tactical fight against a dangerous opponent.Maybe some of us start seeing a pattern we've seen before. The GSP pattern. You know, someone that was hungry, that would go for the kill at any and all costs. Then watch them turn into point fighters that loses more fans than it gains because you're protecting a brand, a title, or a shot at a title. It applies to more than just Condit. Benson Henderson and Dominick Cruz come to mind. Some of us get tired of leg kicks and jabs for five rounds.
That becomes a debate on why the fighters are fighting like that? Because they are afraid to lose their big paychecks and possibly even their jobs. The only job security in the UFC is winning. These fighting styles are a result of fighters doing what they have to do to keep the paychecks coming in. The sad part is, once they start down that road, they must win for now on or risk being cut instantly for a loss due to their "boring" fighting style. The UFC is in this for money, its a business first is what they have shown and you cant blame Greg Jackson for training his fighters how to lower the chance of a UFC career ending loss.
1st step = fire Greg Jackson.
Fuck and NO.
Damasta Shonuff -formerspook -Phisher -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.
^This. Look at what happened with condit earlier this year. Dude went from having a reputation as a killer to being branded as the new Kalib Starnes because he fought a tactical fight against a dangerous opponent.Maybe some of us start seeing a pattern we've seen before. The GSP pattern. You know, someone that was hungry, that would go for the kill at any and all costs. Then watch them turn into point fighters that loses more fans than it gains because you're protecting a brand, a title, or a shot at a title. It applies to more than just Condit. Benson Henderson and Dominick Cruz come to mind. Some of us get tired of leg kicks and jabs for five rounds.
That becomes a debate on why the fighters are fighting like that? Because they are afraid to lose their big paychecks and possibly even their jobs. The only job security in the UFC is winning. These fighting styles are a result of fighters doing what they have to do to keep the paychecks coming in. The sad part is, once they start down that road, they must win for now on or risk being cut instantly for a loss due to their "boring" fighting style. The UFC is in this for money, its a business first is what they have shown and you cant blame Greg Jackson for training his fighters how to lower the chance of a UFC career ending loss.
Pretty funny how everyone likes to bag on BJ Penn because he gets his ass kicked so often, but there's tons of people(including me) that never misses one of his fights. Machida had his undefeated "Mystique", got handled by Shogun, yet people still love him. Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture. Hendo lost to Anderson AND Rampage, still a can favorite. It's a fight, people lose, but if you go down, go down swinging. Point fighting, Lay'n'Pray or leg kick city, makes people not like you. Jon Fitch comes to mind. He lost once after GSP, ONCE! No, nobody wants to watch him fight. Why? Because its fucking boring. GSP, Bendo, Cruz..... Too many lost fans, won't recover after they lose the belt. It will happen eventually.
Warzone209 -formerspook -Damasta Shonuff -formerspook -Phisher -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.
^This. Look at what happened with condit earlier this year. Dude went from having a reputation as a killer to being branded as the new Kalib Starnes because he fought a tactical fight against a dangerous opponent.Maybe some of us start seeing a pattern we've seen before. The GSP pattern. You know, someone that was hungry, that would go for the kill at any and all costs. Then watch them turn into point fighters that loses more fans than it gains because you're protecting a brand, a title, or a shot at a title. It applies to more than just Condit. Benson Henderson and Dominick Cruz come to mind. Some of us get tired of leg kicks and jabs for five rounds.
That becomes a debate on why the fighters are fighting like that? Because they are afraid to lose their big paychecks and possibly even their jobs. The only job security in the UFC is winning. These fighting styles are a result of fighters doing what they have to do to keep the paychecks coming in. The sad part is, once they start down that road, they must win for now on or risk being cut instantly for a loss due to their "boring" fighting style. The UFC is in this for money, its a business first is what they have shown and you cant blame Greg Jackson for training his fighters how to lower the chance of a UFC career ending loss.Pretty funny how everyone likes to bag on BJ Penn because he gets his ass kicked so often, but there's tons of people(including me) that never misses one of his fights. Machida had his undefeated "Mystique", got handled by Shogun, yet people still love him. Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture. Hendo lost to Anderson AND Rampage, still a can favorite. It's a fight, people lose, but if you go down, go down swinging. Point fighting, Lay'n'Pray or leg kick city, makes people not like you. Jon Fitch comes to mind. He lost once after GSP, ONCE! No, nobody wants to watch him fight. Why? Because its fucking boring. GSP, Bendo, Cruz..... Too many lost fans, won't recover after they lose the belt. It will happen eventually.
And what does all this nonsense have to do with Jon Jones? He lays waste of everyone he fights. Hardly in the same boat as boring john fitch and i know damn well nobody wants to be in Chuck liddels shoes the man has brain damage just watch an unedited interview...
It came from someone saying MMA fans have short memories and will forget all of this in a couple of weeks. I'm just saying that we remember everything, especially once fighters start making really poor decisions, something JBJ has been known for lately. I don't doubt he's destroyed everyone he has faced, but it's his dumb decisions that are getting questioned. In a few months, someone will say "JBJ is the GOAT", and someone will reply "No, he ducked Sonnen". Kind of like "Fedor is The GOAT", ad someone says "No, he never fought Brock. Only Fought UFC washouts".
He has pretty much cleaned out LHW at this point. He can make the move to HW and try and win the belt there and if he can all these transgressions against the UFC DFW and the fans will be forgotten.
He didn't lose anything in my eyes
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.
This is the unwritten code amongst fighters.
Meh, only the hardcore fanbase will ever really know all that's happened in the last few days anyway. The majority of fans won't know or care and will still see him as one of the most dominant champs in the sport.
He lost me as a fan. Its a long shot, but I hope Vitor smashes him.