Jon Jones has often had the image of a mean and imposing guy who would trample anyone in his path. During his tenure as the UFC light heavyweight champion, he tussled with some of the biggest stars in the promotion. Over the years, it has led to some of the most famous rivalries in the sport.
For those unaware, ‘Bones’ tore through the light heavyweight division in his prime. After becoming the youngest UFC champion ever, Jon would go on a run that manages to baffle people, even to this day. Having claimed his title after beating Mauricio Rua, Jones beat the best of the best.
During his reign, Jones faced and beat the likes of Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson, Daniel Cormier, and more. Thus, his resume remains one of the most legendary of all time. However, in recent times, a very interesting question has been raised about the fighter.
Jon Jones reveals why he does not look into his opponents’ eyes
Throughout his career, Jon Jones has exhibited a calm yet tenacious temperament in front of his opponents. Having faced some stone-cold killers in his day, Jon had quite an interesting approach when it came to fighting and facing off against his opponents in press conferences as well. Recently, fans online pointed out that Jon has almost never looked directly into his opponent’s eyes during faceoffs.
Going through the innumerable faceoffs he has had in his career, the claim is quite evident. Despite standing as close as possible to his opponents, Jones outright refuses to look into their eyes. In a recent Instagram post, Jon finally revealed why he does so.
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“Bc It’s not anything personal, they’re all amazing characters in my story”.
A surprising claim as some may suggest, the talk of Jon Jones’ faceoffs was touched upon in light of his first face-to-face meeting with interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall. Notably, many shared their thoughts on the demeanor of both fighters, pointing out how Jon refused to let Aspinall keep his hand on his shoulder and also how the heavyweight champ denied a faceoff with the young Englishman.
One of Jon Jones’ faceoffs went horribly wrong
With that said, it is entirely possible that Jon Jones has been avoiding making eye contact with his opponents in order to not invoke extreme emotions. Ahead of fights, fighters are known to get extremely pumped up and let out a lot of what they are feeling at that moment. Additionally, some believe that ‘winning’ the faceoff also gives the fighters an edge over their opponent at times.
With that said, a rare occasion where Jon made eye contact with his opponent was Daniel Cormier ahead of UFC 178. In a rare faceoff that took place in the lobby of Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, both fighters came to blows after a heated faceoff. Notably, the altercation resulted in the full destruction of the stage setup, leading to a lot of chaos. Although the UFC 178 fight between them got canceled, it was a major point in their rivalry.
Not only that, but the animosity continued off-air, where Jones even threatened to “literally kill” Cormier. Whilst the pair have faced off an absurd amount of times owing to cancellations, this particular instance was one that will forever be remembered by fans. As a result of the brawl that ensued, the UFC strictly took to having the fighters face off in an arena with plenty of security around to prevent any mishaps.