Gustafsson or Cormier? Jon Jones' dilemma brings unjustified outrage

Jon Jones apparently wants to fight Daniel Cormier. In the estimation of many, that is a bad thing, even an outrageous thing, because the UFC wants Jones to rematch his rival Alexander Gustafsson. 

Oh, is that how this partnership works? It's OK for one side to want something but bad for the other side to have a differing opinion?

Dana White has said he considers his fighters "partners," right? But this one is out of line, why, because he's voicing his preference for his own future? That's something he's earned after three years as the UFC light-heavyweight champion, no matter how much it angers the fight world. And it certainly appears that it does anger the UFC brass, judging from the fact that they are essentially trying to force his hand through public disclosure of negotiations.

You got the feeling there were some kind of shenanigans at play when the promotion first informed ESPN that Gustafsson had agreed to an Aug. 30 date but were waiting on Jones. Dana White is always very specific that he and Lorenzo Fertitta don't like to announce any deals before they are done, but in this case, they made a rather humongous exception, pulling the old end-around on the sport's pound-for-pound king. 

That's why I explicitly asked White after UFC 173 why they would do so now. 

"We didn't announce it, we said we're shooting for Aug. 30," he said then. "That's the date we want for Jones-Gustafsson."

Whether or not it was an announcement is a game of semantics; the UFC made its intentions clear.

"We just signed Gustafsson to a new deal, and Jones is getting a new deal, too," White continued.

Trouble is, on Monday, White told UFC.com that Jones wasn't getting a new deal.

"Just to clear up a couple things, people think we're in contract negotiations with Jon Jones; we're not," he said. "Jon Jones still has five fights left on his contract."'

He went on to say that Jones wants to fight Cormier and not Gustafsson.

And with that, White finished painting his picture. The champ was under contract and refusing a fight. Cue up the scavengers.

The wait for them wasn't long, as it quickly begun a new round of Jones-bashing from his tenacious critics who love nothing more than to be armed with new material. There it is, they say. Jones is ducking Gustafsson. As if it would be possible to duck someone you already fought.

Gustafsson has a legitimate claim to a rematch, sure. He gave Jones hell for five rounds, made him dig deeper than anyone ever has, took him to the final bell and made him sigh in relief rather than scream in celebration at retaining the belt. He's a stud, and a rematch would undoubtedly be the top option of many.

But let's not pretend like Jones voicing a preference for Cormier is an attempt at an easy payday against some cupcake. Cormier is undefeated at 15-0 and has never lost a single of the 31 pro rounds in which he's competed. He's beaten heavyweights like Josh Barnett and "Bigfoot" Silva. He's ranked as the No. 2 contender right behind Gustafsson. Of the two top contenders, he's coming off a win over the more accomplished opponent, having finished Dan Henderson via submission at UFC 173. 

Jon Jones aptly illustrated this notion today in an Instagram post that he has since deleted. "Asking for an undefeated Olympic wrestler, Strikeforce champion makes me somehow a coward?" asked Jones. "How about the fact that I beat Gustafsson already? Whether you guys like how close it was or not. It’s my career. Not yours.”

Not-so-patiently waiting.

If Jones wants to fight him, it's not that unreasonable a request. Now we'll have to wait and see how this all plays out. Event tickets generally go on sale about two months before a show, giving the promotion just less than four weeks to get Jones to agree to fight on the Labor Day weekend show. As it stands now, Jones is scheduled to meet with White and Fertitta on Thursday with the hope of hashing something out.

There's little doubt there is a power struggle in the offing here. White went on to tell UFC.com that if Jones didn't sign to fight Gustafsson then who knows, perhaps Cormier vs. Gustafsson could be next. But why would it make sense to have Gustafsson fight Cormier and put your champion on the shelf when your champion is saying he wants to fight Cormier? Does that seem logical? Nope, it mostly seems like a message that we can do this "World F****** Domination" thing with or without you.

As sports executives go, White is far more forthcoming than most, but like all of them, he is selective of what he puts in the public arena, knowing that with his influence, he has the ability to shape opinion. He did it when Jones refused to fight Chael Sonnen at UFC 151, calling his decision "selfish" and "disgusting" and saying the event would be remembered as the one Jones "murdered."

It's a characterization that has unfairly tarnished Jones to this day, and if that was throwing the champ under the bus, the more current controversy is like White ominously rattling the engine key in Jones' direction while staring at him through the windshield. 

Of course it would be easier for Jones to just say yes and do what the bosses say, but do you think he became champion by taking the easy path? 

Follow the logic here: White has a desire that's OK. Gustafsson has a desire that's OK. Cormier has a desire that's OK. Jones has a desire that's bad. Somehow, all the outside observers believe their own opinions are more valid than the champion's. If you feel justified in suggesting, even demanding that Jones owes Gustafsson a rematch, just imagine how Jon Jones feels.