Jon Jones could lose all relevancy in MMA if he doesn't start promoting himself soon, says former foe Chael Sonnen
It's been exactly 996 days to this exact date since Jon Jones stepped inside the octagon to compete. From former opponent Chael Sonnen's point of view, Jones could lose all relevancy in MMA if he doesn't start promoting himself soon.
Jones, regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time within the MMA community, has laid the groundwork for making the heavyweight division his new home.
The prolonged hiatus emanated from contract disputes with the UFC, and Jones claimed that he's willing to relinquish his title and sit out for as long as it takes to make things right. In the last few months, he has set his sights on former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and targeted a fight on the UFC 282 pay-per-view card.
I’m bringing all the heat @Stipemiocic, I got that fire you could never put out. Sign the contract #Ufc282
Speaking on his YouTube channel, former rival Chael Sonnen opined that Jones' general inactivity will lead to him fading into irrelevancy:
"The whole thing [differences with the UFC] was over contractual dispute. It's your pie, you've [Jon Jones] got to decide how you cut it off...[but] you have a real problem on your hands. He has had three years and he has not changed that. In three more years, he's a distant memory from the sport."
Sonnen further added that choosing inactivity isn't the right way to deal with the situation and that Jones isn't doing enough to push the Stipe Miocic fight:
"I have no reasonable expectation that he can help correct something. I can't sign on the line.. I can incentivize you on the back end. I can't make it a guarantee upfront, not on a fight [vs. Miocic] that I'm going to build for seven weeks. You've had three years and you've shown me you don't know how to build one."
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Chael Sonnen alludes to one basic principle for fight fans' demand for Jon Jones
Chael Sonnen named Jon Jones amongst the elite category of athletes that fans will tune in to watch regardless of narratives and storylines. Michael Jordan, considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time, was also included on that list.
'The American Gangster' claimed that while Jones has been away from the sport for a long time, his stakes still remain high. Sonnen alluded to the demand and supply model in sports and the explicit needs of fight fans as the reason for this.
However, he also believes that Jones hasn't been able to capitalize on the demand in the three years that he has been away from the sport:
"Jon Jones has been gone for three years. Three years in MMA is an eternity. So it's a reality of how quickly things move. Is that what's working against Jon? Because if you say yes, I'm going to have to remind you of the most powerful economic principles in the world, which is supply and demand. Demand for Jon is very high right now because supply is very low."
Watch the video below: