Article: Bones and the Beast

August 8th, 2017

Written by: David Clifford

Twitter: @fishyfridge

Instagram: @overhandleft

Bones and the Beast

This fight is why we have weight classes. There is no disputing the fact that Jon Jones is the superior martial artist, that he is more experienced despite being much younger and that pound for pound he is the better fighter. What Brock Lesnar is is bigger and no matter what Jon Jones does to bulk up for this potential heavyweight spectacle Brock Lesnar will still be bigger.
Why might these two be fighting? Is it to see who is the superior martial artist? This is not the year of the dragon, when Lyoto Machida spoke (crazilly) of moving up to Heavyweight to fight the Beast. Lesnar is no longer the near mythical MMA figure he once was, lording over the biggest division in the UFC like the end boss of “Golden Axe,” waiting for a hero to dethrone him. Now, Lesnar is a scary steroid induced sideshow who would be returning to MMA for a payday and the chance to hurt someone. Will this fight progress the Heavyweight or Light Heavyweight divisions forward or backwards? Will this fight tell us who is the better fighter even? There are many reasons these two won’t be fighting for. There is one they will be; Money.
In the McGregor Era cash is king. Most likely it always was, but now people are talking about it. Fans are talking about it. Promoters are talking about it. Fighters are talking about it. In professional wrestling Kayfabe governs protocols of interaction between good and bad guy wrestlers; faces and heels. This mechanism exists so that the audience can have an easier time suspending their disbelief while they watch, so they can believe it is real. The UFC has been enacting its own form of Kayfabe for years so that their viewership can believe that the promtions matchmaking is aimed at pitting the best against the best. That is the reality they wish to be percieved. That is the paradigm they have been laboring to get over through promotion and a questionable rankings system. But recently the truth, as it always does, has been getting out. And now its servants are not journalists nor fans nor competitor promotions, instead they are the fighters themselves. More and more, fighters speak of wanting to fight the “Money Fights.” The most important matchmaking factor in the UFC has become money. Celebrity among fighters has taken the foreground in matchmaking criteria, valued over records and fighting skill. Jon Jones wants to fight Brock Lesnar because money. Brock Lesnar wants to fight Jon Jones because money. The UFC wants to make the fight because money. And the only thing that will inspire them to make another match is something that will eventually make them more money.
Surprisingly, some fan polls show that there is more demand for a rematch between Alexander Gustavson and Jon Jones. There are less logistical hoops to jump through to make that fight happen. Gustavson is an active UFC fighter, he has the #2 contender status in the Light Heavyweight division and he has never failed a drug test. Besides Volkan Oezdemir, the other three fighters in the Light Heavyweight division’s top five are coming off of losses. Gustavson is higher in the rankings than Oezdemir and a much more well known fighter. And Gustavson gave Jones the hardest fight of hs life. If the UFC wants to match the best against the best, strengthen adherence to its own rankings system and make a fan freindly fight all in one they make Bones vs Gus.
But that is not what they are about. And if they think they can make more money with some kind of a storyline where Jones plays the prodigal son/knight errant character returning home to slay a dragon in the form of Brock Lesnar as a means of redemption and a chance to carve his name into the anals of combat history with some weird David and Goliath theme that will make them a McGregor Mayweather lite kind of payday they are going to drink the kool aid and we are all going to drink it with them. We will buy the Pay Per View and we will watch it and we will watch it for the same reason we watched Noguera vs Sapp and Fedor vs Hong man Choi. Because we love a spectacle. Because we value the visual. And because the Jones vs Lesnar poster would look fucking spectacular.
Statistics and a brief description of the UFC careers of Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar are listed below.

Jon Jones
6’4″
205 lbs
84″ reach
45″ leg reach
30 Years Old
Light Heavyweight Champion
Jon Jones debuted in the UFC on August 9th, 2008 at UFC 87 when he fought Andre Gusmao, earning a unanimous decision victory. It took him eight fights before he got his title shot against Mauricio Shogun Rua on March 19 2011. After an active 2011, the frequency of Jones octagon entrances diminsished. After his victory over Rua he defended his title eight times, had it stripped from him and then went on to win the interim title, followed by by the undisputed title, in his most recent bout against long time foil Daniel Cormier. He fought twice in 2012, twice in 2013, once in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and so far once in 2017.
Brock Lesnar
6′ 3″
265 lbs
81″ reach
44″ leg reach
40 years old
Former Heavyweight Champion
Brock Lesnar debuted in a losing effort against Frank Mir at UFC 81 on february 2nd 2008. He then went on a four fight win streak during which he defeated Randy Couture to win the heavyweight championship, defending it twice before losing it to Cain velasquez on Oct 23 2010. Since then he has fought only twice, Suffering a loss to Allistair Overeem in the Battle of the Beef, and defeating Mark Hunt only to have that victory overturned into a no contest when he failed multiple drug tests for PEDs. Brock Lesnar is currently working as a proffesional wrestler for the WWE.