Jon Jones might take offense to criticism from Miesha Tate, but maybe he should listen to her.
Maybe, just maybe, it’s time for Jon Jones to keep his mouth shut.
As if his Shaggy defense at his California State Athletic Commission hearing earlier this week wasn’t enough, Jones appears to be taking time out of his busy schedule to call out those who dare to be critical of, or even apathetic to Jones’ latest slip-up.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion’s target Wednesday night was Miesha Tate who, on her Sirius XM radio show, said that she was “over” Jon Jones and his seemingly never-ending transgressions, subsequent apologies and rehabilitations.
“I don’t really care if he comes back because I’ve lost the motivation and the interest,” Tate said on “MMA Tonight” Tuesday night. “The faith I have in Jon Jones has been lost.”
""I don't really care at this point if he comes back"@MieshaTate explains to @RJcliffordMMA why she has no desire to see Jon Jones return to MMA anytime soon. pic.twitter.com/gCyq3N0mbB
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) February 28, 2018
It is far from absurd for anybody to be turned off by Jones after his latest positive drug test result for Turinabol. This failure came just weeks removed from Jones’ return win over Daniel Cormier to reclaim his light heavyweight championship. In the moment, Jones had appeared to have turned his life around and was surprisingly gracious in victory towards his heated rival Cormier. The idea of going through yet another redemption story for Jones, doesn’t appeal to Tate in the least.
“I don’t want to hear his sob story. I felt sorry for the first, [and the] second time he kind of had me. But it’s like, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, I mean, come on, am I waiting for a fourth now? I just don’t. I’m over it.”
Tate’s frustration seems reasonable but Jones doesn’t seem to agree. Jones offered a response in a tweet directed at Tate the night after she made her comments and what may appear as a self-motivational message of perseverance, is really a petty and passive-aggressive dig at a female colleague.
@MieshaTate I don’t quit when things get tough for me, I get stronger. You just wait and see, maybe you’ll even find motivation in it. Sucks I lost you as a fan. Enjoy retirement sister
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) March 1, 2018
Tate retired following a decision loss to Raquel Pennington in November of 2016. She admitted in the cage after the fight that her desire to fight just wasn’t there anymore and called it a career at that moment. Tate has spent retirement starting up a website with fitness videos and podcasting. She also announced her pregnancy in early January 2018.
A reasonable person might see this series of events and the timeline and conclude that Tate may have spent much of 2017 setting herself up for life after fighting and attempting to, and ultimately succeeding at conceiving a child – something that often takes upwards of a year for first time parents.
Not our humble champion Jones though. As with many common-sense aspects of this life, Jones sees this differently. Apparently, Jones sees Tate’s new career and family goals as quitting “when things get tough.” He vows that such circumstances will “make him stronger,” even though history suggests he will self-destruct yet again, and likely more spectacularly than before.
Miesha Tate retiring from active competition and starting a family is in no way a weakness that she needs to recover from. Tate’s transition should be seen as motivational and an achievement in itself, not an obstacle to success. Jones, who is a father to four young daughters, may want to try and understand this.
Perhaps Jones just lacks the insight and maturity to see the insensitivity in going after Tate for feeling tired of Jones’ repeated failures in the way he did. If not that, then maybe he’s just kind of a dick.
Either way, time will tell, and ultimately Jones will determine his own legacy. As for Miesha Tate, enjoy retirement (and that baby) sister.
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