Is Jon Jones the UFC’s Fighter of the Year? The former light heavyweight champion’s move up to the heavyweight division and subsequent claiming of the heavyweight title might suggest so.
Unsurprisingly, the voice of dissent belongs to Jones’ old rival Daniel Cormier, who argued against the “ESPY” award for Jones on a recent episode of DC & RC.
Why Jon Jones Does NOT Deserve Best Fighter ESPY
“I just don’t know if one fight in the year against Ciryl Gane puts you in that position. And that’s no knock on Ciryl.
It was just one fight. You gotta think of the storylines that follow these other athletes. From Makhachev beating [Charles Oliveira] to win the belt, from Makhachev beating Alexander Volkanovski.
Then you look at Amanda losing her belt to Julianna [Peña] and then winning it back. Then Leon Edwards doing what he did. Let me tell you something, Jon Jones is in there because Jon Jones is the biggest star.
He’s the biggest star that’s holding a championship right now outside of Israel Adesanya. That’s why he’s in there. What’s crazy about it is, he might win it because of him being the biggest star of the people in there.
I agree that the other three should be in there. I think Jones needed one more performance to find himself in the running for an ESPY, if we’re being completely fair. The storyline just doesn’t add up.”
Cormier did concede that Jones’ return to the UFC was impressive. After three years away, and moving up to a weight class sixty pounds heavier than the one in which he previously competed, Jon Jones ran down Ciryl Gane, who once held the interim UFC heavyweight title, and submitted him inside a single round.
“He impressed in his return. I’m not saying it wasn’t super impressive, but bro, Israel Adesanya should’ve been in the ESPY running again this year.
He should have been in the running last year, he should be in the ESPY running every year as long as he’s holding onto this championship for as long as he has. And what about Aljamain Sterling? Why is Aljamain Sterling not in the running for an ESPY considering what he did?”
Cormier offered a consolation prize to Jones fans: that Jon Jones, if he does not fight again this year, ought to pick up the Comeback of the Year award. Even a long layoff could not extinguish Jones’ competitive fire.
“Jon Jones as Comeback Athlete? Yes! I’m all in on that. Three years away, coming back to become the heavyweight champion of the world, absolutely yes.”
