Opinion: The Best and Worst of Surprising Jones-Cormier 2 Backlash
Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.
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It washed over most conversations about last week’s UFC 197 and when, following the event, the idea emerged that Jon Jones-Daniel Cormier could be reappropriated as the July 9 headliner, it seemed like a perfect fit given where UFC was at with McGregor.
On Wednesday, the UFC announced Jones-Cormier 2’s rescheduling for
UFC 200 in the main event slot, and Dana
White insisted that the company isn’t done adding to the
already muscular July 9 bill. I assumed that while many folks would
still have lingering resentment toward the UFC over the nature of
the McGregor ordeal, this would be almost universally positively
received. Given the artificially monumental status that Zuffa has
embedded into UFC 200, and the void left by McGregor and the
soon-to-be-vacationing Nate Diaz, I
assumed getting the most prestigious rematch in MMA history would
be seen in large part as a savior to the card. I was wrong.
I’m loathe to simply say, “Oh, MMA fans, always complaining, can’t please ‘em,” because I don’t really think that is true. Also, I never want to mistake a small contingent of engaged hardcores active on social media as being representative of the entire potential fan or consumer base, because it is not. At the same time, I’m not talking egg avatar trolls on Twitter. Between radio listeners and emailers, I was surprised by the amount of rational, thoughtful people who were simply lukewarm on Jones-Cormier 2. Given how Jones fell short of lofty expectations and succumbed in some measure to ring rust against Ovince St. Preux in UFC 197's replacement main event, my assumption was that this was the point where Jones-Cormier 2 would be seen as the most potentially competitive. Again, I was wrong.
My eyebrows were raised by the amount of people who simply said they thought Jones would handily take another four rounds at least from Cormier. Most of them voiced a desire to see Jones instead move to heavyweight. This is the brand of dissent I can listen to and appreciate. I do think Jones will take another four rounds or so, but frankly, I enjoyed the dynamic and entertainment of their first bout, and the two have developed the best personal rivalry in MMA history, so I want to see them run it back. Furthermore, in a time where fighters like Frankie Edgar have their big-fight dreams marginalized time and time again, to deny Cormier the chance to rematch Jones while he purports to hold the UFC light heavyweight title would be a misstep, just as it would be to deny Jones the chance to prove he was and is the only true light heavyweight champion.
Like any fight lover, I thirst to see “Bones” attempt to dominate the heavyweight division as he has 205 pounds. But even if you are dissatisfied with waiting for that to come about and think he'll breeze through Cormier, their rematch is still scheduled for July 9. I’ve heard a minority call out for Jones to face Anthony Johnson before exiting light heavyweight, under the notion that knocking off “Rumble” would mean Jones has essentially cleaned out the division. A victorious Jones could potentially have Cormier and Johnson both mopped up by year’s end or early 2017, injury and legal luck willing. Maybe I’m being oblivious again, but Jones is 28 years old and we’re talking about him eventually transitioning into a less talented division where the average age of an elite fighter is about 35; him fighting Cormier, or even Johnson subsequently, is not an affront to the weight-jumping dream. If anything, it creates the best pretense for Jones to create a historic, committed move to heavyweight division, having truly vanquished a division in the most provocative way we’ve ever seen.
Unfortunately, those critical of Jones-Cormier 2 are not exclusively a thoughtful bunch just champing at the bit for Jones to fight Fabricio Werdum. Combing through commentaries on the subject, I’m shocked by a peculiar and creepy strain of people who simply feel UFC 200 is simply an unappealing card, in large part due to the idea that it won't make as much money as if McGregor were a part of it. This is not a legitimate criticism; this is preposterous and dumb.
Firstly, “UFC 200 isn’t that good” is an asinine position. On paper, it’s incontrovertibly one of the five best UFC cards ever assembled. It would be overkill to run down the entire card, so just consider the top two fights. Even if you don’t love Jones-Cormier 2, it’s arguably the best fighter ever and certainly the greatest light heavyweight ever rematching his great nemesis in MMA’s most legitimate heated rivalry ever.
On top of that, while Jose Aldo-Frankie Edgar 2 for an interim featherweight title is a bit bastardized because of the McGregor situation, I think it packs surprising intrigue and relevance that didn’t exist in their first encounter three years ago. Yes, McGregor is the real champion and his shadow looms large, but when Aldo and Edgar first fought, Edgar had accomplished nothing in the division. At this point, “The Answer” has looked better than ever and handed multiple elite featherweights their asses on plates. A win over 2016 Aldo, still the greatest featherweight ever, would be the biggest victory of Edgar’s career (other than when he dethroned B.J. Penn for the UFC lightweight title, a fight any sane person knows Edgar lost.) Edgar is already the best win of Aldo's historic career, and this incarnation of Edgar is even better.
This is to say nothing of a the third title fight in the UFC 200 tripleheader, or the myriad top-10 fighters in other bouts. Plus, Sage Northcutt returns. “UFC 200 isn't that good” is stupid.
As far as dollars-and-cents talk, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with discussing the business of the UFC or MMA on the whole, debating what is best promotional practice and all the political underpinnings of the sport. In fact, these conversations are important: talking about UFC business strategy, fighter pay, corrupt athletic commissions and the like will always be integral to an educated MMA populace. That said, it is short-sighted to judge a fight's worth entirely on its ability to draw money, and it is sillier to judge a fight as a preemptive failure because it can’t match Conor McGregor. If you're upset that Jones-Cormier 2 is headlining UFC 200, you’re saying you’re unwilling to accept anything other than Conor McGregor.
Across the board, I think it’s fair to call McGregor the biggest draw in MMA history. One, he can draw 1 million pay-per-view buys like a Brock Lesnar or Ronda Rousey. Two, while he doesn't capture the pro-wrestling or 13-year-old girl demographics like the aforementioned stars, he still engages global mainstream media in a major way. Three, McGregor does what neither Lesnar nor Rousey, nor anyone else in MMA has ever been able to do: be a one-man tourist industry, inducing thousands of people to take transatlantic flights and spend a week in whatever city he lands in, usually Las Vegas, where they all get drunk, eat and gamble to excess.
By every measure that can be considered “drawing,” no one has ever drawn like McGregor. Relatedly, it’s part of why his gripes about his time and money are completely legitimate. However, these political maneuvers in sports tend to be protracted affairs and the UFC has made its stance clear at this point, yet, they want to start promoting UFC 200. It wasn’t going to be McGregor, and nothing can match the recent standard he’s set.
More than that, what kind of perverse bootlicker must you be to complain about a fight because it won’t make the UFC as much money? How much money a fight will make a promotion is a legitimate conversation and for all the reasons just mentioned, but why are you even watching MMA if that is the most crucial criterion by which you judge fights? Jones-Cormier 2 won’t do the business Diaz-McGregor 2 would have. Hell, 361,000 people watched the Diaz-McGregor press conference online, compared to just 33,000 for the UFC 200 presser. That said, UFC 182 with Jones-Cormier 1 headlining alongside Donald Cerrone-Myles Jury did 800,000 PPV buys.
Jones and Cormier obviously will never match the tourism and live gate boons McGregor provides, but if he’s out of the picture, this is the best that can be possibly done since a reconciliation with “The Notorious” isn’t going to come in time. If you’re a weird sycophant who gets off on lining the Fertittas' pockets, Jones-Cormier 2 on top of a card with more aggressive promotion will still be a 1 million buy PPV, even maybe a few hundred thousand beyond that. It’s still good business.
I will never dismiss hardcore fan discourse in MMA, be it through social media or otherwise. The most engaged fans in this sport still help set its agenda from the grassroots level, and they have for over 15 years now. But, that UFC 182 number and the logical forecast for UFC 200 are why I’m always cognizant of confusing MMA’s most engaged, political citizens with its whole fanbase.
Ultimately, when UFC 200 breaks 1 million buys, a surprisingly tepid reaction from the sport's diehards won’t matter. It will be a number that capitalizes on the interest of the sort of people who likely saw Jones-OSP via highlights on “SportsCenter,” who watch three or four UFC events a year, if that. If, for some strange reason, you can't get behind Jones-Cormier 2, at least let it be for a defensible reason.
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