Is LHW really ever going to be the same without Jon Jones?

[Mishima Zaibatsu]

It's never been one of my favorite divisions mind you. Gustafsson, Rumble(wish he'd come back now), and now a guy like Ozdemeir(sp) are guys that I love to watch, but without Jones, it's like someone tore the heart out of the division.

Not only has he beaten the second best guy twice, but his rematch with Gus probably will never happen, we'll probably never see him fight Rumble...

It's like if Conor never came back to MMA, not only would the sport suffer greatly, but FW and LW would lose credibility, because the man who beat the man is gone.

Everything south of 170 is where it's at for me now.

What a fuck up Jon is.

 

[Mix6APlix]

No. Jones is the goat, and all his haters know it.

 

[Suicidalforlife]

Frustrating, 2 of the best LHWs out of action now, in their prime.

 

[TheEmperorRises]

It'll be fine. Jones lost all credibility with the 2nd failed drug test.

And LW and FW would be fine without Conor the same way WW was fine without GSP.

 

[Robbie Hart]

It will be the "also ran" division without him

 

[ender852]

yeah, since jones has been mia for 2 years other than a pair of fights (1 of which is eminently forgettable), i'd say it's about the same it has been

 

[Ted Williams' head]

No, it's a very strange spot. Not many great names to make championship fights with without Jon.

 

[Mix6APlix]

Maybe the stars can move up a weight class, become boxers, and call out Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis or Riddick Bowe for a trillion dollar super fight.

 

[DoTheKick]

I will miss rumble more.

 

[Mix6APlix]

Did Tyson ever, ever, have a reach advantage?

 

[regular john]

(...) his rematch with Gus probably will never happen, we'll probably never see him fight Rumble...

do you really believe Jones will be gone for good? MMA relies on people "retiring" then returning for comeback money fights.

other than that I agree, combat sports above 170 lbs are slowly dying. 185 in MMA is still good but all the best fighters are pushing either 30 or 40 y/o. and if you combine MMA, boxing and kickboxing, there aren't enough fighters to fill one division whether it's LHW or HW.

Jones being the fuckup he is makes LHW depressing because he didn't beat the man, he beat all men in the division and only one of them actually put up a fight against him. it'll be a long time until there is a champion that isn't under his shadow and by that time there might not be enough people in the world that big who are able to fight.

 

[Mishima Zaibatsu]

do you really believe Jones will be gone for good? MMA relies on people "retiring" then returning for comeback money fights.

other than that I agree, combat sports above 170 lbs are slowly dying. 185 in MMA is still good but all the best fighters are pushing either 30 or 40 y/o. and if you combine MMA, boxing and kickboxing, there aren't enough fighters to fill one division whether it's LHW or HW.

Jones being the fuckup he is makes LHW depressing because he didn't beat the man, he beat all men in the division and only one of them actually put up a fight against him. it'll be a long time until there is a champion that isn't under his shadow and by that time there might not be enough people in the world that big who are able to fight.

Well, he's 30, so he's missed out and will continue to miss out on a solid chunk of his prime years, he most likely won't be the beast we saw for much longer after he does come back... as a Jones fan, it gets me right in the chest.

No, I don't think he's gone for good, but it's another x number of years where the "real" champ is suspended. It's very frustrating.

Only point of my thread was that without Jones, or a guy who can come along and dethrone him who's also very dominant, the division is severely lacking.

 

[Yossarian]

USADA dethroned Jon Jones. This champ has been defeated.

 

[Yossarian]

No, I don't think he's gone for good, but it's another x number of years where the "real" champ is suspended.

He was never real champ if he was using PEDs. And everything right now points at that posiibility.