UFC champ Jon Jones to haters: 'You sound like a girl calling me fake'

Mike Goldberg and Jon Jones

Jon Jones is letting his image be whatever it is with MMA fans.

The UFC light heavyweight champ said on Monday that he’s trying too hard to be the good guy and now humors the haters he’s gathered over the years.

“No one wants to be the bad guy, but a the same time, people tag me to be the bad guy, and I’ve learned to just let go,” Jones (20-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) said during a media call in support of Saturday’s UFC 182 pay-per-view headliner, where he attempts his eighth title defense when he meets Daniel Cormier (15-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.

“When I read my comments on Twitter and Instagram, I realize I really do inspire people, and people really appreciate who I am as a martial artist. And then when I look at some of the people who write me negative messages, it’s always so dumb. It’s so dumb. ‘Dude, you’re fake.’ I’ve been hearing I’m fake for so many years, it’s like, OK. Who cares if I’m fake? I win fights, and that’s what I’m here to do.”

Jones hasn’t always been as permissive about the attitudes taken toward him. He admitted that he did look after his image and tried to come off in the best light, in part to attract blue-chip sponsors looking to associate with a clean-cut image. He spoke of becoming a role model to other fighters and the sports world at large.

At the same time, he struggled to live up to that image. On several occasions, he landed in hot water for offensive behavior on social media and was arrested in 2012 for driving under the influence.

But recently, Jones said he’s come to a conclusion about what his job really entails, and it’s not much about maintaining his image with fans.

“I’m not here to win you over with my personality; I’m here to fight,” Jones said. “That’s ultimately my job. I look at the people who hate on me, and it’s never anything solid. It’s like, ‘Dude, you poke people in the eyes in your fight.’ OK, that’s an accident. Or, ‘Hey, you’re fake.’ Or, ‘You’re bigger than the other light heavyweights.’

“It’s just always real stupid stuff, so I’ve learned to kind of laugh at it, and I’m just waiting for the person who really hates me that gives me a legit answer or reason, and no one has ever given me anything solid, outside of calling me fake. I’m like, what are we, in high school? I’m a grown man. You’re calling me fake? You can’t call my work ethic fake, and the things I’ve achieved fake.

“I just find it funny. I’ve just learned to laugh at it and go with it. That’s the best thing you got on me; that’s not a bad thing. You sound like a girl calling me fake. So yeah, that’s that.”

For more on UFC 182, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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