Jon Jones was definitely sick of the Conor McGregor hype train.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion revealed that he was happy to see The Notorious lose as it delivered a reality check to fans of McGregor who believed the Irishman was an unbeatable force.
Jones was in attendance at UFC 196 when Nate Diaz drew the submission from McGregor in the second round and ‘Bones’ has since explained why he was glad with the result.
“A part of me thinks that it was a good thing because he was humbled,” Jones said, in quotes appearing on FancyMMA‘s YouTube channel. “Right before he lost, he was getting into conversations about fighting anybody, anywhere, saying things like I could beat anybody, no matter what weight class they’re in.
“I was getting fans writing me messages saying ‘How would you do against McGregor?’
“I was like ‘C’mon guys, you can’t be serious. I’m a 220 lb, 9-time world champion. You really think it would even be a match?’ Some people really believed that he can beat anyone at any weight class.”
“So I’m glad that it happened because it allowed the fans to have that reality check like maybe that guy isn’t invincible — stuff that us professional fighters knew the whole time.”
As relieved as Jones was to see fans become aware that there may be some chinks in McGregor’s armour, he believes that the defeat is only going to act as a character-building learning curve for the Dubliner.
“Then another side of me, is glad to see him lose because I’m positive this is actually going to bring out the best in him,” he said. “After defeat, you really start closing holes in your game, you start questioning your training to become better.”
“As a fan of McGregor, I want to see him have longevity in this sport. Guys like Conor McGregor, they symbolize our sport’s future. Conor McGregor is getting fans from all over the world, who tune in and actually don’t watch the UFC, they just watch Conor fight.
“We need guys like Conor McGregor be successful.”
