Jon Jones Won't Fight Rashad Evans... Not Fighting Your Teammates is Stupid

Should teammates fight each other? It’s a topic that only pops up ever so often, but when it does, it usually ignites a pretty big debate.  Many famous MMA stars have come out against the idea, in particular, Jon Fitch and Keith Jardine have stated several times that they will never fight their teammates. Other fighters seem a bit more willing to say “never say never”. However, you can add another big name to the list of fighters who aren’t only saying “never”, but “never ever not in a million years.” And that man just so happens to be one of the brightest prospects the ufc has ever seen. Here are all the details.

The world-ranked and fiercely dominant Jon Jones recently said the following in an interview with ESPN: “[I would] absolutely not [fight Rashad Evans]. If Rashad Evans won the belt, which I’m hoping he does, my only goal would be to be the toughest contender there is, and keep whipping butt without being champion. I’d stay at 205 and be the second best. That would be my goal. As I said, I’m hoping he wins, we’re very proud of him. I can’t do it.”

I’ll say this right now: I think Jon Jones is only hindering himself if he keeps this promise and doesn’t fight Rashad Evans. I’ll go one step further: not fighting your teammates is asinine, and it prevents you from competing against the best competition possible. Now, before I get my trusty flame shield out and primed for an assault, hear me out on this one.

I get that it’s hard to fight a friend. But this is the UFC, this is MMA…it’s a hard sport. When that cage door closes, everything gets left out and the only thing that matters is you and your opponent. If you can’t separate your friendship for fifteen to twenty-five minutes, what does that really say about you as a top-level fighter? To be the best you have to beat the best, and if you don’t fight the best out of some misguided principle, ultimately the only thing you’re doing is hurting yourself and depriving the promotion and its fans of a potentially money-making bout.

I think Jon Jones will keep this promise no matter what I think, but for just a second, try to imagine what Rashad Evans vs. Jon Jones would look like. If both men bring out their best, we’ve got a “Fight of the Year” fight on our hands. The same goes for encounters like Jon Fitch vs. Josh Koscheck. These are fantastic matches that could potentially make everyone involved a huge amount of money. And it’s not going to happen simply because some fighters aren’t willing to put aside their friendship for one little fight.

I understand the sentiment, part of me even agrees with it in principle, but I just don’t like the fact that more and more high-level UFC fighters are refusing to fight each other because they’re part of the same camp. A fight is a fight is a fight: either fight the best and prove yourself or stagnate against lower-level and unworthy competition. Either put your friendship on the back-burner for a couple of minutes and reap the noticeable rewards, or stick to your precious principles and anger everyone from the promoters to the fans. The choice is yours.

And what do you think, fans and friends? When it comes to teammates fighting teammates, where do you stand?