Manager: Jon Jones Isn’t Playing Heel, Really Did Want Daniel Cormier Fight

UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones has become quite the villain in MMA media recently, allegedly ‘ducking’ number one contender Alexander Gustafsson and calling out Daniel Cormier, only to eventually sign the contract and seemingly dispel the shit storm he had helped create. The common opinion? ‘Bones’ is selling himself as the heel of the UFC.

Not according to Jones’ manager Malki Kawa, who spoke to MMAFighting.com last night, as he explains his fighter is simply maturing:

“I don’t think he’s turning heel, I think what’s going on with Jon is that he’s maturing, and he’s becoming more comfortable saying how he feels and not worrying too much about media backlash. People don’t understand how Jon is — Jon wants to be a good example, especially for the young kids. He wants people to look up to him and see that he is a guy who put a lot of hard work into what he does. It’s not just something that came to him because he’s 6-foot-4 with long arms, he’s a guy that works really hard to get better at what he does everyday.”

You can’t take away the fact that Jones has beat the best of his division consistently and, aside from the Gus rematch and Daniel Cormier, you could argue that there isn’t much more work for Jones to do at 205 pounds. Kawa continued:

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“With Cormier calling you out all the time and talking trash about you and putting the perception out there that he’s afraid of him, I think he really let the emotions kind of get to him and he wanted a fight Cormier for real. But I think at the same time we also had this thing going on with the contract and a whole bunch of things that were going on. “I think it was a combination of both things,” he said. “I think [Jones] wanted a new deal, and I think he also wanted to fight Cormier, and it was nothing to do with not wanting to Gustafsson. I just think that Jon is a guy who wants to take on new challenges. “

Whether there are any more challenges for Jones beyond Gus part II and Cormier is yet to be seen, but what we do know is that there are challenges aplenty just a few pounds away. The heavyweight division is what will eventually be Jones’ new home, and could be coming very soon if he can get past ‘The Mauler’ and DC.

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As for the recent portrayal of ‘Bones’ in the media, I take with a pinch of salt from both sides of the fence. It would seem impossible to give Jones a good image with his semi-smug nature, but at the same time I think that is all part of his game. Like him or not, Jones has achieved what millions can only dream of, and he acted like a bit of a dick, but I suppose he earned the right to.