Rashad Evans Brings the Bones out of Jon Jones in Interviews

As they prepare for their championship match this Saturday at UFC 145, Jon Jones and Rashad Evans continue to quarrel before the cameras, allowing the world to witness the growing tension in their strained relationship.  

In their joint interview on UFC Ultimate Insider, the two let their emotions do the talking.  As usual, Jones started the interview by attempting to remain calm, say the right things and be the humble fighter that other champions are. 

But as the interview progresses, Evans clearly irritated Jones by interrupting him, calling him fake and immature, disrespecting Greg Jackson and emotionally explaining that he made Greg Jackson’s program what it is today, leading Jones to stray from his media prepared answers and show his true colors.  

Evans explained that he knows what Jones’ coaches are telling him to do because he’s worked with them for years.  Jones made attempts to brush off the early comments, but Evans clearly knows how to push his buttons.  

Jones’ change is also visible in his other joint interviews with Evans, most notably on SportsNite.  It’s when Evans calls him fake or a liar that his true emotions show.  His responses are much more animated and dramatic than the toned down, stiff and possibly rehearsed comments he begins most interviews with.  They become more supercilious.

Jones now claims to believe his own hype, in contrast to his former belief that such a conviction leads to defeat.

As the tension has increased, Jones gibes at his insulting opponent, labeling him arrogant and self-centered.  Jones stated in the UFC Ultimate Insider interview: “There’s no ‘I’ in team.  There’s no ‘I’ in Jacksons.  There’s ‘I’ in Blackzilians.”  

I don’t condemn Jones, or any fighter, for being self-confident or cocky.  That level of self-assuredness seems essential in the ability to lock oneself in a cage with another man who’s looking to knock you out.

I have simply noticed that his bland, prefabricated answers for the media disappear somewhere in the middle of his joint interviews with Evans.  Evans knows exactly what to say to set off his former teammate’s temperament, seemingly giving him a certain amount of control of Jones.  Evans must hope that this control will translate to their five round match.

Evans tells his young opponent not to be fraudulent.  He believes that Jones is setting himself up for a fall that he can’t tolerate at this early stage in his career.  He claims to know the pitfalls of life and that losing a fight will change you as a person.  In the UFC Primetime special, when speaking about Jones, Evans said he wants to “change his life.”

By the time Jones was fully flustered, he made direct insults to Evans’ abilities, saying: “I feel like I’m just getting started, and you’re at the end.”

“Am I at the end? Why is that?” asked Evans.

Jones sternly responded, “Because I said so.  And because I’m going to prove that you are.  Yea, call that cocky.”

This is possibly what Evans speaks of when talking about who Jones truly is.  He may see through the schooled, unassuming demeanor Jones portrays for the media and taunts him to reveal his true character.  Not only is he toying with his opponent’s mind, he’s also showing the world what he means when he calls Jones fake.