Jones vs. Cormier: Two Words
Have you ever been told, “you suck”? You probably have. Maybe recently. It is never pleasant and it always causes conflict.
When you are great at something, being told, “you suck,” usually means little. You accept the words, consider the source and move on. It causes a reaction. It makes you wish ill towards the person who told you, “you suck,” if only for a moment, but it doesn’t stick. They suck. They can’t touch you. You know it. They’re not worth it.
But what if you’ve never been told, “you suck”? What if you were a child prodigy who made the state finals in his first year? What if you won three state championships in high school? (Think about that.) What if you won two national championships in junior college, and were a Division I (the highest level of amateur wrestling in the United States) All-American your senior year?
What if you were an Olympian?
What if you competed for World Championships?
What if you won were an MMA rookie as you neared your thirtieth birthday and you still won all of your fights?
What if you were undefeated in UFC?
Who, in their right mind -- who that matters -- would ever stand in your presence, dead in your face and tell you, “you suck”?
Jon Jones, that’s who. The greatest fighter to ever step into the Octagon. The man who beats people any way he wants. The man who is shown a technique on Monday, practices it on Tuesday and beats you with it on Wednesday. That’s who thinks you suck. UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones.
Kind of hurts, doesn’t it? Kind of makes you want to beat the crap out of the guy. Kind of makes it the type of fight you can’t lose. No matter what sacrifices it takes and no matter what the consequences before or after, on January 3, 2015, you’d better get your hand raised.
That’s why Jones vs. Cormier is so great. Screw the sporting world at large, who have seemed to lost interest. For fans of MMA -- fans of fighting, fans of men being men -- this is awesome.
Of course, Jones might win. He’s favored to by bookmakers and he’s my pick. But Jones is the less compelling figure here. He doesn’t hate Cormier. He thinks that Cormier is lessor and he has been annoyed by Cormier calling him out, but there is no true hate.
Jones can’t hate Cormier because Cormier can’t touch Jones. Jones knows that he is the chosen one. The one who has the ultimate package of athleticism, cognition and adaptivity. He knows that Cormier is ordinary by comparison. Cormier fights by neutralizing his opponent’s strength. Jones fights by becoming better than his opponent and embarrassing him. He out-wrestles wrestlers, out-strikes strikers and submits grapplers. Cormier will never do those things, and Jones knows it. It makes Cormier an opponent of Jones, but little more. Cormier is not an existential enemy to Jones, the way Jones is to Cormier.
Cormier may well win on Saturday. In fact, some of the people who know MMA best are betting that Cormier will win. If it happens, then good for Daniel. He will have beaten MMA’s greatest on the sport’s biggest stage. And if that happens, he may one day be grateful to Jon Jones for finally telling him, “you suck”.
When you are great at something, being told, “you suck,” usually means little. You accept the words, consider the source and move on. It causes a reaction. It makes you wish ill towards the person who told you, “you suck,” if only for a moment, but it doesn’t stick. They suck. They can’t touch you. You know it. They’re not worth it.
But what if you’ve never been told, “you suck”? What if you were a child prodigy who made the state finals in his first year? What if you won three state championships in high school? (Think about that.) What if you won two national championships in junior college, and were a Division I (the highest level of amateur wrestling in the United States) All-American your senior year?
What if you were an Olympian?
What if you competed for World Championships?
What if you won were an MMA rookie as you neared your thirtieth birthday and you still won all of your fights?
What if you were undefeated in UFC?
Who, in their right mind -- who that matters -- would ever stand in your presence, dead in your face and tell you, “you suck”?
Jon Jones, that’s who. The greatest fighter to ever step into the Octagon. The man who beats people any way he wants. The man who is shown a technique on Monday, practices it on Tuesday and beats you with it on Wednesday. That’s who thinks you suck. UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones.
Kind of hurts, doesn’t it? Kind of makes you want to beat the crap out of the guy. Kind of makes it the type of fight you can’t lose. No matter what sacrifices it takes and no matter what the consequences before or after, on January 3, 2015, you’d better get your hand raised.
That’s why Jones vs. Cormier is so great. Screw the sporting world at large, who have seemed to lost interest. For fans of MMA -- fans of fighting, fans of men being men -- this is awesome.
Of course, Jones might win. He’s favored to by bookmakers and he’s my pick. But Jones is the less compelling figure here. He doesn’t hate Cormier. He thinks that Cormier is lessor and he has been annoyed by Cormier calling him out, but there is no true hate.
Jones can’t hate Cormier because Cormier can’t touch Jones. Jones knows that he is the chosen one. The one who has the ultimate package of athleticism, cognition and adaptivity. He knows that Cormier is ordinary by comparison. Cormier fights by neutralizing his opponent’s strength. Jones fights by becoming better than his opponent and embarrassing him. He out-wrestles wrestlers, out-strikes strikers and submits grapplers. Cormier will never do those things, and Jones knows it. It makes Cormier an opponent of Jones, but little more. Cormier is not an existential enemy to Jones, the way Jones is to Cormier.
Cormier may well win on Saturday. In fact, some of the people who know MMA best are betting that Cormier will win. If it happens, then good for Daniel. He will have beaten MMA’s greatest on the sport’s biggest stage. And if that happens, he may one day be grateful to Jon Jones for finally telling him, “you suck”.
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