Now that Jon Jones is more established as a UFC champion, he’s developing a painfully corporate attitude. The UFC light heavyweight champion admitted last month that he doesn’t want to fight Anderson Silva because they each have too much to lose. Now he says that if he beats Dan Henderson on Sept. 1, he’s not really interested in a rematch with Lyoto Machida, who is set to face the winner.

“I don’t want to fight Lyoto Machida,” Jones said, according to ESPN.com. “He was my lowest pay-per-view draw of last year.

“No one wants to see me fight Lyoto Machida. I don’t want to fight Lyoto again. Lyoto is high risk and low reward.”

So Jon Jones is a professional fighter, which means his job is to fight whomever the UFC wants him to fight, but he doesn’t want to fight a good fighter if he’s not being paid enough to risk losing. I understand where he’s coming from in a business sense, but nobody wants to hear this crap.

Do you think Muhammad Ali became a living legend by managing his risks and opponents, or did he acquire fame by proclaiming that he was the best fighter ever and ready to pound anyone, anytime, anyplace? If Jones is a true champion who believes he’s unstoppable, then that’s the sort of thing he should be saying. Instead, he’s acting like he’s frightened to lose what he’s built. That’s the type of thinking that has made boxing a stale, uninteresting sport.

The beauty of the UFC is that fighters are constantly tested against the best opponents and their records aren’t padded. It seems like Jones would prefer to go down the Floyd Mayweather Jr. path of only facing guys he knows he can beat, and collecting as much money as possible each time out. That approach can make Jones a lot of money, but it’s not the attitude that makes legends.

The more you try to protect what you have built, the more it’s all going to come crashing down when you screw up. Jones already has had a taste of that. If he’s so concerned about creating interesting fights, then he should move up to heavyweight where he will finally be properly challenged.

H/T LBS contributor A. Hull
Photo: Paul Abell-US PRESSWIRE

According to the police report, UFC champ Jon “Bones” Jones had two female passengers who were injured in his Bentley when he crashed into a utility pole before being arrested for DWI in upstate New York two weeks ago.

The two women, both 25, have been identified as Cara Johnson and Michele Vojtisek (pictured here). Johnson was in the front passenger seat at the time of the crash and suffered a bloody nose, bruises and shoulder pain. Vojtisek sustained bruising and cuts to her face. Both women were reportedly transported to a local hospital.

Jones, who reportedly suffered minor injuries and refused a breathalyzer and field-sobriety test, pleaded guilty to the DWI charge on Tuesday. And we’d like to use this moment to point out that Jones now-hilariously once said this: “I’m glad the UFC wanted to work with me as well, and I think that they trust that I’ll never make them look bad. You never have to worry about me with a DWI (driving while under the influence) or doing something crazy.”

It’s not clear what type of relationship Jones, who has two daughters with fiancee Jessie Moses, has with either passenger, other than Jones and Johnson reportedly went to high school together. But, without throwing around any unsavory allegations, we can’t help but to spot the glaring similarities to Bobby Petrino’s infamous joy-ride-gone-wrong with mistress Jessica Dorrell.

H/T Deadspin
Photo: Paul Abell-US PRESSWIRE

Jon Bones Jones had a bad start to his day on Saturday. The UFC light heavyweight champion was arrested for DUI after crashing his Bentley into a pole in Binghampton, New York around 5:00 am, according to TMZ.

TMZ reports that Jones’ car was wrecked and that he was bailed out by his mother a few hours after being taken into custody.

This is nightmarish news for the UFC. The organization hand-picked Jones as the superstar they wanted to market the most. They had him wearing UFC-sponsored gear for his most recent fight, and he even appears in K-Swiss commercials with UFC president Dana White. Jones poses as a man with a strong religious background, and he was supposed to have a clean image. 5:00am DUI arrests for totaling your crazy expensive car send the exact opposite message.

UPDATE: Jones reportedly had minor injuries.

Photo Credit: Paul Abell-US PRESSWIRE