I still hold to that. I don’t think the guy’s phony. But his reaction to his DUI arrest early Sunday morning sure is shitty.

From his Facebook page:

Man I haven’t added anyone new to my Facebook page in like three years and right now I’m so glad that I haven’t. It has literally been sickening to have so many people try to kick me while I’m down. At the same time, I totally understand, I gave them the leeway to. I screwed up, big time. Just needed to say thank you to all you guys for being amazing friends/supporters.

 

Always having to deal with so many critics, haters and fickle mma fans, I almost forgot how strong of a home base I had (607 and people that knew me before I was a champion fighter). Although the hell that will come with this hasn’t even started yet, I want you guys to know how much better you’ve all made me feel, not only about this situation but about life, everything. It’s good to feel that people are there and care. With that being said, I felt I should apologize to you first.

 

I’m truly sorry to those of you that I may have embarrassed in any way, to those of you with kids that I may have let down. I will prove to them as well as to myself, that no matter what is happening in life, we can always work our way back and make things even better than before. Reading you guys uplifting comments was a great reminder for me to not give up on who I am or all the hateful people. I’m not gonna allow this situation to outweigh the positive. I love you guys right back and I promise to make things right.

 

ps sorry about the terrible grammar

Jones isn’t the first athlete to get busted with this and he won’t be the last. Not by a long shot. It’s a problem bigger than him, particularly in the sense that the “personal Hell” he alludes to are the consequences of him being arrested after crashing into a telephone poll and escaping with minor (if that) injuries. That’s a very common reaction to this sort of thing.

Yet it’s nothing compared to the personal Hell of the family of someone that very well could have been on the wrong end of his Mercedes Benz.

And that’s the real problem here. Jones’s entire “apology” here is built on self-pity and self-deprecation. The last line, apologizing for the terrible grammar and stamped with an emoticon, is the penultimate sentiment. Jon Jones is aghast at the nasty reaction anonymous strangers had to his arrest, rather than at the fact that he could have killed somebody.

Like I said, this isn’t the first and won’t be the last time this happens to a professional athlete. But that doesn’t mean he or we should treat it so flippantly. Too many people, some of whom are reading this, have lost people due to the poor decisions and reckless behavior of people like Jones. For him to intimate anything but the deepest regret is irresponsible and reprehensible.

Shame on you, man.

PRELIMS

• Marcus Brimage defeated Maximo Blanco via Split Decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
  Dana White was not a happy man, sarcastically tweeting about the fight itself, and I’m sure he wasn’t pleased with Blanco’s flips and antics after the fight itself, either. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get his walking papers this week.
• Chris Clements defeated Keith Wisniewski via Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27).
• Mac Danzig defeated Efrain Escudero via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
  After the fight, Danzig told reporters he eventually wants to fight Nate Diaz. He noted he might need to rack up a few more wins before he gets there. Yep.
• Anthony Njokuani defeated John Makdessi via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  Fought at catchweight because Makdessi came in three pounds over and wasn’t able to drop at the weigh-ins. Njokuani, who’s on the larger end of 155, wasn’t happy to say the least.
• Matt Brown defeated Stephen Thompson via  Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-27, 30-27)
• Travis Browne defeated Chad Griggs via Submission (R1 2:29, arm-triangle choke) Browne receives UFC’s Submission of the Night bonus. Browne receives UFC’s Submission of the Night Bonus.

MAIN CARD

• Mark Bocek defeated John Alessio via  Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
• Eddie Yagin defeated Mark Hominick via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Yagin & Hominick receive UFC’s Fight of the Night Bonuses.
  Some thought Hominick got robbed here. I had it 29-28 Yagin by a narrow margin. You could make an argument the other way and I wouldn’t call you batshit crazy, but Yagin’s strikes the first two rounds were far more significant and he knocked Hominick down in each. Hominick had a Hell of a comeback in the third round, but he was way too tentative even while Yagin was on rubber legs with his hands drifting down, essentially letting Yagin walk away with the win.
• Michael McDonald defeated Miguel Torres via KO (R1 3:18, punches)
  Torres is only 31, but he’s much older in fight years and it’s starting to show.
• Ben Rothwell defeated Brendan Schaub via KO (R1 1:10, punches) Rothwell receives UFC’s Knockout of the Night bonus.
  Perfect performance by Rothwell, who is in the best shape of his life. Schaub came out like an animal. Where most would have panicked and succumbed to the onslaught, Rothwell stayed patient and waited for his opportunity to counter. And boy, did he ever. Poor Schaub has talent, but that boy cannot take a punch, likely as a result of his football days.
• Rory MacDonald defeated Che Mills via TKO (R2 2:20, punches)
  Nevermind the fact that this was in the main event: this was a strange fight to make in the first place. Putting a largely untested prospect whose career highlight so far is a KO win over Chris Cope in there against a legit Top 10 Welterweight borders on the absurd. MacDonald just completely dominated him from the moment the fight started, and as soon as it got to the ground Mills had absolutely nothing and couldn’t even hook the leg from sidemount. Rogan on commentary seemed insistent on telling us otherwise, all but saying that Mills was the most underrated guy to ever put on gloves. Clearly they’re positioning MacDonald for something. My speculation is that with November being the absolute earliest estimate for St. Pierre’s return, he’ll end up with a shot at Carlos Condit’s Interim Welterweight Championship.
• Jon Jones defeated Rashad Evans via Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45)
  What can I say that hasn’t already been written? I gave Evans the first round by the narrowest of margins, but from there it was all Jones. To the credit of both, Jones tried to finish but Evans wouldn’t allow it to happen. I was shocked to see people crap all over this fight. I thought both fighter did everything they could: Jones tried everything he could to put Evans away, but “Suga” wouldn’t allow it. Also, people forget that Evans is on the much smaller end of 205 and could (maybe should) be fighting at 185. Immediately after the event it was announced that Dan Henderson, who had been told some time ago that he could have a title shot at any weight class he wanted, would get the next shot at Jones. The Light Heavyweight Division in the UFC the last two years is the most competitive in its history, and Jones walked right through it and has all but cleaned out the top ten. Amazing.

Tomorrow night is the long-awaited showdown between former stablemates Jon Jones and Rashad Evans for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. Will the phenom Jones continue his ascendance, or will Evans play spoiler?

If he did, it wouldn’t be the first time. Even when Evans knocked out Chuck Liddell with an overhand right to win his first title in what was considered a huge upset, we should have known better. Evans thrives on the insistence people have in underestimating his skills and intelligence. It may seem ludicrous to call the consensus #2 Light Heavyweight in the world underrated, but it’s apt. Sure, he got caught against Machida, but it literally happens to the best of them.

I’m picking Jones, but I wouldn’t call an Evans win an upset. Not even considering that due to various injuries, Evans has only fought three times in the last two years. Because I know better by now, and you should too.

The full card, and my picks for the main broadcast:

Preliminary card (streaming live via the UFC’s Facebook page)

• Featherweight bout: Marcus Brimage vs. Maximo Blanco
• Welterweight bout: Keith Wisniewski vs. Chris Clements

Preliminary card (airing FX)

• Lightweight bout: Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero
• Lightweight bout: John Makdessi vs. Anthony Njokuani
• Welterweight bout: Matt Brown vs. Stephen Thompson
• Heavyweight bout: Travis Browne vs. Chad Griggs

MAIN CARD

• Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio
• Featherweight bout: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin
• Bantamweight bout: Miguel Torres vs. Michael McDonald
• Heavyweight bout: Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell
• Welterweight bout: Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills
• Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Jon Jones (c) vs. Rashad Evans

PICKS:

• Bocek over Alessio via Submission, R3. Alessio’s a bit of a wild card. He’s done well for himself the last few years, but Bocek’s been fighting a much higher level of competition in the UFC and WEC.
• Hominick over Yagin via TKO, R2. Both are finishers and this should be an aggressive, explosive encounter. A lot of people are writing off Yagin, but I think he’s going to give Hominick quite a bit of trouble.
• (Michael) McDonald over Torres by Unanimous Decision. I like Miguel, but I think his days of being at the top of the Bantamweight Division are over, at least for the time being. The competition hasn’t completely passed him by, but but this division’s only gotten stronger in the last three years. McDonald has looked great, so great that I’m picking him to win even though he shares a name with a Yacht Rocker.
• Schaub over Rothwell by Unanimous Decision. Rothwell is tough enough to survive Schaub’s onslaught, but doesn’t have the offensive tools to put him in any real danger. Barring bad cardio from Schaub, this is his fight to lose.
• (Rory) McDonald over Mills via TKO, R3. This or Homonick/Yagin is going to get Fight of the Night. Mills has a good game, but McDonald is quite possibly the most underrated guy at 170 (and the one who put Nate Diaz out of the division).
• Jones over Evans via TKO, R4. I’m having what you might call a premonition. I see Rashad keeping distance between himself and Jones in the first round and surprising him with a couple takedowns, grinding out a 10-9 on the judges’ scorecards. Then Jones will adjust and batter him the next three rounds, ending in either a stoppage early in the 4th or in Evans being unable to answer the bell. If anybody can beat Jones, it’s Evans. But the kid’s a monster. Case in point: if he wins this fight, he’ll have cleaned out the Light Heavyweight division in a manner of a couple years. Amazing.

As MMAFighting.com notes, Dana and Lorenzo weren’t thrilled with the idea:

“I actually asked Dana and Lorenzo, could I take a fight for the fans at the end of 2012,” Jones said. “I figured beating Henderson and Rashad, there would be a period where we’d figure out who I’m going to fight next, and during that period, at the end of 2012, I asked to fight a heavyweight — a Top 10 heavyweight.”

…
“Dana and Lorenzo didn’t think that was the best for me to do right now,” Jones said. “They wanted me to continue at the light heavyweight division.”

I drew the comparison between Silva and Jones only because thus far in his reign Jones has shown the same level of dominance against the best of his division in the same way Silva has for the past few years.

There are, however, some differences that need to be acknowledged. First, there’s the fact that there’s a big discrepancy between Middleweight and Light Heavyweight in terms of both drawing power and depth of talent. The Middleweight division has improved leaps and bounds from where it was four years ago, but despite having the best pound for pound fighter as its champion (or perhaps in part because of it) is still something of a journeyman’s division. There are a crop of what I would consider “natural” 185 fighters finally breaking through, but for years the division was occupied by guys moving up in weight because they’re too slow for 170 and others who couldn’t cut it at 205. Even today, the #2 and #3 fighters at that weight, Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping, are examples of the latter.

So while Jon Jones has been dominant, he still has some contenders in a much deeper division. That said, as ridiculous as it may sound, he’s almost there. He’s beaten Bader, Rua, Jackson, and Machida in less than one calendar year. After he gets through Evans and Henderson (which I have a strong suspicion he will given his utter dominance of the other fighters), he’ll have cleaned out the top 10 of the Light Heavyweight division. Who will be left to contend? Phil Davis is a prospect, but showed last Saturday that he’s not quite there yet. The only other fighters who could even be considered top 10 – Thiago Silva and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – are not likely to get in a position of title contention anytime soon (if ever again), let alone stand a chance against him.

The frequency with which Jon Jones has fought has made him an MVP for the promotion, but the UFC sort of shot themselves in the foot by overbooking him, because he’s run through every potential contender they’ve put in front of him and now they’re in a scenario where he likely won’t have any contenders after the Spring. Dominant champions are good for a spell, but their drawing power is severely diminished once the fans can no longer buy opponents as viable contenders. That’s why Brock Lensar was the UFC’s top draw: it wasn’t just because of his mainstream notoriety from pro wrestling, but also (and more importantly) because he was seen as a beatable monster and every challenge he faced held some degree of intrigue. With Jones, each successive title defense seems more and more like an inevitability, as it has with Anderson Silva and to a lesser extent Georges St-Pierre.

For those same reasons, I understand Dana’s refusal to let Jones fight a top ten heavyweight. That division is a mess as it is and they’ve lost Lesnar to retirement. The influx of Strikeforce Heavyweights is promising but lends to it an air of uncertainty, particularly with fighters like Josh Barnett and Allistair Overeem, both of whom the UFC is going to be booking with baited breath and hoping they don’t piss hot for a Commission drug test. Having a Light Heavyweight, even its champion, move up in weight for one or two fights and potentially sabotage another contender wouldn’t be good business. Anderson Silva fighting James Irvin and Forrest Griffin was one thing, because Irvin was never going to contend and Griffin by that time was all but done as a contender and just around for name value and the occasional superfight (see also: Franklin, Rich). Having Jones do the same would probably draw a good buyrate, but at the risk of bringing depth and legitimacy of an entire division into question.

Still, one has to ask: if/when the time comes where Jon Jones has beaten literally every single potential contender, what the Hell are they going to do with the guy?

*****

Tom Lawlor’s entrances
Last Saturday, Lawlor fought in the last Facebook prelim against Middleweight phenom Chris Weidman. He lost (Weidman is on a tear and I expect him to be in a position for a title shot by the end of 2012), but he won our hearts with his latest entrance. Even better, though, was his turn at the weigh-ins where he showed up dressed as Steven Seagal:

*****

Chael Sonnen’s mental illness

Sonnen  is an incredible creep, highly unlikable, a liar, a cheater, brash, and irritating. Thankfully, though, he’s also batshit crazy. This makes him at least entertaining, even when he’s being intolerable.

*****

More “free” MMA than ever before
With UFC on Fox now behind us, we’re set to see more specials on Fox, Fuel, and FX in the next few months. As a bonus, they’ve learned their lesson from JDS/Cain, and Fox Network specials will have a minimum of two fights. It’s little consolation for those who decided to forego the Facebook prelims or didn’t know about them and missed a fantastic display from Benson Henderson and Clay Guida.

*****

Too much MMA
One of the things MMA fans have complained about over the past year – and I’m certainly one of them – is burnout. At certain times the UFC has operated at a blistering pace, putting on as many as six events in as many weeks. Add that to the weekly (and fantastic) Bellator cards and it becomes a bit too much to take. But let’s put this in perspective: remember when we’d get a UFC once every six to eight weeks? Not only was the wait killing us, but if you’re like me and had the occasional obligation on a Saturday night and missed a card, you had to wait another month or two before you got to see a decent fight again. In that sense, maybe too much MMA isn’t such a bad thing after all.

More Fight of the Year Candidates in the next five weeks (or would be if Shogun and Henderson hadn’t fought last Saturday)
UFC 140 is just two weeks away – I know – and features Mark Hominick taking on the Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung, on the undercard. As star-studded as the card as a whole is – it’s a triple bill featuring Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida, Frank Mir vs. Antonio Minotauro Nogueira, and Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – Hominick and the Zombie are all but guaranteed to steal the show. Then, just a few weeks later, we get Brock Lesnar taking on Alistair Overeem in the main event of UFC 141 and in the semi-main event a fight featuring two of the most aggressive Lightweights in the world, Donald Cerrone and Nate Diaz. And a lot of people seem to be sleeping on the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale between coaches Michael Bisping and Jason “Mayhem” Miller, which I think is going to surprise a lot of people with its intensity. It could be a thoroughly competitive, entertaining affair. Well, so long as Bisping doesn’t stick his chin out and skip in a straight circle like an idiot.

*****

Am I missing something? Probably. But clearly, there’s a lot to be thankful for and a lot to look forward to in the weeks, months, and years to come. So when you’re at your table tomorrow and your elderly grandmother asks you to lead the family in saying grace, take the hands of those next to you and tell everyone that you’re thankful to God and everyone else for the Minotauro brothers, the Korean Zombie, horse meat, and Mayhem.

Amen.