August 22, 2012, UFC 151 conference call news story for MMA-Insider.com
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Denis Gorman posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 at 3:46 PM in Previews
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones channeled Michael Corleone in response to those critical of his decision to openly state his apathy towards a rematch with Lyoto Machida.
It’s not personal, it’s just business.
“We fight to make money, quite frankly. I refuse to be a broke athlete when I retire,” Jones said in a conference call Tuesday afternoon with reporters to promote next weekend’s UFC 151 event. Jones will meet Dan Henderson in the main event for the title.
Jones recently told ESPN.com that he does not want to fight Machida because their UFC 140 title fight was his “lowest pay-per-view draw of last year” and “no one wants to see me fight Lyoto Machida. No one wants to buy that fight. “
During Tuesday’s call, Jones expounded upon his argument.
“The money I make today [will take care of Jones when he’s older and] pay for [his children’s] college. [I’m] thinking about the business aspect,” Jones said. “It’s a business. I don’t want to have to fight when I’m really old. My idea is to fight three [or] four times a year.” He added that he thought next Saturday night’s pay-per-view at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas will “do well. Dan has a strong and loyal fanbase.”
It is a viewpoint that did not and will not play well with romantics. However, as the sport of mixed martial arts continues to evolve as a revenue generating phenomenon, Jones’ bottom line-oriented principle will gain traction with other fighters.
“You always pay attention always hope the numbers stay up,” Henderson said regarding PPV buys. He and UFC President Dana White were on the call as well. “It’s been nice to have a solid job when people are losing their jobs because of the economy.
“The money is going to get better over time.”
It certainly will for Jones, 25, who signed an apparel sponsorship deal with Nike last week. He said that there will be “shoes, hats, t-shirts, jumpsuits,” as part of the agreement. “[It’s] going to be pretty nice, pretty professional.”
But while Jones’ future seems destined to have multifaceted revenue streams running through it, next Saturday’s event may be one of the last big-money fights in Henderson’s storied career. The 41-year old has a career record of 29-8-0 and enters this fight on a four-fight win streak.
“Old guy fighting a younger guy who’s been tearing everyone [in the division] up,” Henderson said of Jones, who is 16-1-0.
“[I’m] planning on putting him on his back,” Henderson added. “I know what I’m capable of.”
Henderson is widely acknowledged as one of the great knockout artists in MMA history. Thirteen of Henderson’s 29 career wins have been via knockout. Also, he has never lost a fight by knockout. Among the few negative assessments of Jones as a fighter is despite three career knockout victories there is a perceived he is unable to knock out opponents, and that he has not yet been in a fight in which he has had to trade punches.
They are theories that Jones has long tired of.
“I think getting your chin tested slows down your career. My chin has been tested. I think the conversations should be over by now,” Jones said. “Don’t believe anyone’s invincible. If you take big shots, I think ability fades away.
“One thing I know is that I won’t gas out.”
Even as he cashes in.
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Image Credit: Graphic courtesy of UFC
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posted by Denis P. Gorman at 7:50 PM
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