Jon Jones isn’t concerned with having DQ loss overturned

By Fernando Quiles - June 30, 2019

If you were expecting Jon Jones to lobby greatly for overturning his lone career defeat, you may be surprised.

Jon Jones, Matt Hamill, Chael Sonnen

Back in Dec. 2009, a young Jones went one-on-one with Matt Hamill. The bout served as the co-main event for TUF 10 Finale. Jones was having his way with Hamill, taking him to the mat and unleashing vicious ground-and-pound. Referee Steve Mazzagatti called a halt to the bout and a TKO win for “Bones” was all but secured. That was until it was revealed that Jones was disqualified for landing illegal 12-6 elbows.

Appearing on the “It’s Time” podcast, Jon Jones made it clear that he isn’t prioritizing getting the defeat overturned (via MMANews.com):

“I’ve learned not to care about it,” Jones said. “I feel like sometimes when a fighter is undefeated, they start to fight to protect this undefeated record instead of taking on new challenges and risking taking on scary guys. So there is some good in not technically being called that undefeated fighter, but I do also understand that on the promotional side, there’s so much Dana White could do with marketing his light heavyweight champion as this undefeated fighter. It just makes it a bigger deal to the rest of the world.

“If (the loss is overturned), that’d be great. But if not, I’ve already gotten comfortable with that Matt Hamill loss experience. At the end of the day, it was my mistake, and it was a good learning experience for me.”

UFC president Dana White has said he’s working on getting the loss changed. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan agrees that Jones should officially be undefeated. Chael Sonnen, however, feels that rules are rules and that nothing should be altered.

Do you think that the Nevada State Athletic Commission will overturn Jon Jones’ lone defeat?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 6/30/2019.


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Jon Jones UFC