Instead Of Asking "Is Jon Jones Spying On Quinton Jackson?!", We Should Be Asking "Does It Matter?"

Normally, most people’s only interactions with spies comes from thriller novels. But a recent rumor has gotten a lot of people amped up: according to Quinton Jackson, there is a spy in his camp that is secretly reporting information to Jon Jones, the man Jackson is scheduled to fight against for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. The reputation of Jones has taken several hits lately, and this one seems to be a knockout blow. But is it true? “Bones” claims that it’s all a stunt pulled by a fighter that only fights for money. Here are all the details.

Jones took to Twitter to answer Jackson’s accusations, and here’s what he had to say courtesy of MMA Mania: “@Rampage4real Just so you know, I’m not a person who looks for shortcuts in life. Unlike you, MMA is not something I do because of money. It’s a way of life for me and I would never disrespect the integrity of that. I have way more faith in myself, as well as respect for the art of fighting to ever stoop that low… Believe me or not, I’ve said my part…”

As with all things shadowy and secret, I doubt that we’ll ever get to the truth of this situation. It certainly does sound like a strange story, but then again, there’s been some pretty strange stories that have come out over the last several years. I also have to wonder if this “spy” was maybe just a training partner with a bit too big of a mouth, who talked about Jackson simply so he could brag that he trains with “Rampage” and thus accidentally let some information slip. It’s a possibility, but in the end I don’t know, and I don’t think we’ll ever know.

I’ll tell you one thing, though: this certainly doesn’t help the ailing reputation of Jones.

Make no mistake, virtually everyone (including me) has accepted Jones as the best Light Heavyweight in the world and the future of the UFC. But more and more often I see him being compared to LeBron James and men like him: athletes with tremendous talent that is offset by their tremendous ego. The whole “Champion 2011” thing started it off, then we had the beef with Rashad Evans, then that bizarre interview where he said he hates replica belts, and now we have this rumor of spies.

It’s been a tough few months for Jon Jones.

But allow me to say this: as both a realist and a Jon Jones fan, I don’t think Jones needs the help of spies to be able to defeat Quinton Jackson. Jackson isn’t getting any younger, and it’s not like he hasn’t been defeated in the UFC before. Meanwhile, Jon Jones has ran through anybody and everybody, regardless of their background and history. Jon Jones is simply unstoppable.

So even if this rumor turned out to be true and someone had inserted a spy into Jackson’s camp in order to funnel information to Jon Jones, I think that that’s just an experiment in futility. I think Jon Jones possesses all the tools he needs to defeat Quinton Jackson when he wakes up in the morning. Insider information is honestly superfluous.