Jon Jones is the best light heavyweight fighter the world has ever seen. He's surpassed Tito Ortiz for the most UFC title defenses. He has thrown his name in the hat for the best of all time conversation. He has dispatched every challenger to come his way, including multiple former champions. And my how we hate him for it. It could be a DWI charge that sparked it all - up until he was busted for drunk driving, Jones was portrayed as a clean-cut young champion, the youngest ever in the UFC. At that point, however, fans noticed that Jones was... fake. There was something off about his persona. Plus he was cocky. Too cocky. That's something we all love to hate. By the time Jon Jones turned down a short-notice fight with Chael Sonnen, tanking UFC 151 in the process, the hate-fest was is full swing. It would only get worse from there, and Jones would simply not be able to handle it. He came off as arrogant and ineffective as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter. He would suffer again and again from ill-thought out posts on twitter, including gay slurs and attacking fight fans. News headlines screamed that the UFC had a public relations nightmare with their youngest champ throughout most of 2012 and 2013. Things have died down, if only a little. Jones continues to cause controversy online, but the fanbase seems to be used to it by now. He's hated just as much as he's loved, but there's no denying his talent in the octagon. We love to hate him, so we watch him.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
