Jones kept Seagal out of his dressing room
Jon Jones is well on the road to establishing himself as the greatest fighter in the sport, or perhaps any…
Jon Jones is well on the road to establishing himself as the greatest fighter in the sport, or perhaps any fight sport. He is also one of the smartest, as indicated by keeping Steven Seagal at bay.
Days before UFC 135, Seagal contacted Jones and asked if he could speak with the champion in the dressing rooms before his fight. Judging by his last-minute request, without knowing all the details behind the conversation, it is beginning to seem as if Seagal—an actor—is trying to leech onto MMA fighters for his own benefit.
While Seagal’s mainstream popularity is beginning to dwindle, MMA is growing by leaps and bounds. Clearly, there was little Seagal could help Jones with in the moments leading up to the fight that renowned trainer Greg Jackson could not.
“He was wondering if he could come and talk to me backstage before the fight, just give me some words of encouragement,” Jones told the media at the post-fight press conference. “I didn’t think that would be a good idea. My training staff works very hard on me. I’m their prodigy. I wouldn’t want to disrespect them by welcoming someone else’s master into our room, into our house, into our family.”