Jon Jones and Rashad Evans: Why MMA Teammates Should Fight

Ever rough house with a sibling or a friend?  The two of you play fighting, fooling around until your mother tells you to cut it out. But what if fighting is your job and your boss wants you to face the person you’re close with? 

This predicament has happened over and over again in the UFC, and there’s a simple solution—just fight!

When Jon Jones was announced as the replacement for teammate Rashad Evans against then Light-Heavyweight champion, Shogun Rua, speculation arose as to whether Jones would fight his Greg Jackson training partner if he won. 

At first, the two played it off.  In numerous interviews Jones said he wouldn’t fight Evans, even going so far as to say that Evans would change a weight class if he were to become champion. But as UFC 128 crept closer, a clear rift began to form between these supposed friends.

As we all already know, the two went back and forth, passive aggressively calling one another out, all the way up until fight day, where Jones eventually won the title. Now, he is set to face Evans at a date yet to be determined. 

After the matchup was announced, Evans told Ariel Helwani that he was “done” with the Jackson camp. But this animosity could have been avoided. 

First off, these guys are paid athletes. Their job is to fight. So if Dana White wants you to fight each other, the only question that should be asked is when?

Refusing to fight an opponent simply because you train with him denies fans some truly great fights. When guys like Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva refuse to fight one another, they prevent fans from seeing legendary matchups that would go down in MMA history. 

Their occupation is fighting in the octagon, a priority that takes precedent over friendship.

But what I find most offensive is that they call themselves martial artists in these situations, saying that they won’t fight out of principle. 

Coming from a traditional martial arts background, I would never hesitate to bring my best game against any one of my training partners at a tournament, and they would not hesitate to do the same. 

As martial artists and friends, we know the best way to honor and respect one another is by not only performing our best, but by allowing ourselves the privilege to fight each other at all. 

When these athletes refuse to fight, they are not doing it out of respect, but out of fear of losing face. Who cares if they know your secrets?  The only way to become better martial artists is by continually challenging your skills.