The champ doth protest too much, methinks - The Fine Art of Violence.

A response to the BE Open Thread about stripping Jones of the title.

Go ahead and strip Jon Jones of his heavyweight title because there’s precedent. The last two light heavyweight champions have recently gone through this exact same scenario, relinquishing their belts after major injuries. Or don’t, because there are no rules. Everyone’s making this MMA thing up as we go along, from the fans to the promotions, to the fighters themselves. I was trying to figure out why Jones vs Stipe rubs me the wrong way and it comes down to a generational attitude.

Jon Jones lands a flying knee against Shogun Rua

The whole situation feels uncool, which offends my GenX sensibilities. To clarify, there’s nothing more uncool than a blatant corporate thumb on the scale of something I’m trying to enjoy.

The UFC’s insistence on booking Jon Jones versus Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title rips away the veneer of MMA as sport and reveals it as an entertainment first.

The UFC lost the services of Francis Ngannou in favor of Jon Jones and now must maximize their remaining asset’s value. Their chosen course of action has been to retcon Stipe Miocic into the best heavyweight the promotion has ever seen and use him to solidify Jones’ all-time status.

Jon Jones waltzes past Ryan Bader into a title shot.

Dynamic figure elevate MMA to new peaks but it’s not the core reason I watch sports. Any sport becomes rewarding when there’s a belief that you’re watching the best in the world perform. That’s what allows antiquated, niche, and obscure Olympic events to capture our attention.

Francis Ngannou and Tom Aspinall feel like righteous challenges. A title fight with Stipe Miocic, while a legendary heavyweight champion, feels like the UFC doing their best to stage manage the finale of Jones’ career.