Wednesday night, Jon Jones will win the ESPY for 2023 UFC Fighter of the Year.
Does that seem preposterous to anyone else?
Jones is one of the greatest to compete in the Octagon, though it feels like he won solely to add more star power to ESPN’s annual summer production. While the award is based on online voting, this wasn’t exactly a fair fight: Jones was set up to win.
Jones won the fan vote against Islam Makhachev, Amanda Nunes and Leon Edwards. If you’re awaiting an explanation as to why other fighters weren’t included, so am I.
Once the candidates were revealed, it felt like a foregone conclusion that Jones would emerge victorious. And that is exactly what happened.
This isn’t intended to make light of any of the nominees’ accomplishments. Since the last ESPYs, Makhachev overcame the top pound-for-pound fighter in Alexander Volkanovski (conspicuous in his absence from the selections) in a closely contested bout, as well as dominated Charles Oliveira to win the lightweight title. Nunes was also extremely successful, earning revenge against Julianna Peña to regain the women’s bantamweight belt before winning her retirement bout in a one-sided affair against Irene Aldana.
Jones fought once this year, making his long-awaited debut at heavyweight. In what was less of a fight and more of a coronation, Jones needed only 124 seconds to defeat Ciryl Gane to win the heavyweight belt. Edwards has been especially impressive. He defeated a seemingly unbeatable force in Kamaru Usman, ending his 19-fight win streak and taking the welterweight title last August when he executed one of the most memorable knockouts of all time with his famed head kick (which is a nominee for the Best Championship Performance award, highlighting his feats from the previous year are recognized). Edwards then won the rematch in March, a remarkable feat against someone rightfully viewed as one of the greatest welterweights ever. But overcoming Jones in a popularity contest is not a fight Edwards is going to win.
No recount is needed. It certainly feels like this list was created to put Jones in the best possible position to win, which would explain a notable omission like Volkanovski. It would have been fascinating to see whether fans would have voted for Volkanovski, perhaps valuing his loss against Makhachev more than Jones’s win over Gane. But there are likely bigger factors at play. Excluding the pandemic years, last year’s ESPYs stands as the least-watched edition since 2013 and carried its lowest rating since ’11 for the World Wide Leader.
And how was Israel Adesanya not among the candidates? His victory against Alex Pereira in April was a career-defining moment.
There is no shortage of anticipation regarding Jones’s future, which will undoubtedly be covered on tonight’s broadcast. In a must-see heavyweight title bout, Jones will defend the heavyweight belt against Stipe Miocic this November at Madison Square Garden. This is one of the most compelling fights of Jones’s career, and a victory would help cement him as the greatest of all time.
There is no argument that Jones’s list of accomplishments and accolades is long and distinguished. But this year’s ESPY Award shouldn’t be one of them.
Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.
