The UFC has posted the full Countdown show for UFC on Versus 1 to its YouTube channel, and I think the most telling words are the five words that open the show, right after the standard introduction.
Those five words, spoken by Joe Rogan, are: "Jon Jones is a star."
Rogan goes on to talk about how young and exciting Jones is, while UFC President Dana White talks about what a roll Jones has been on and Jones himself talks about how hard work has gotten him to where he is. I don't think there's any question that the UFC views Jones as one of its most important fighters, an athlete who could become the best and most popular fighter in the entire sport over the next decade.
Obviously, that's an incredibly lofty ambition, and there's a good chance that Jones could fall short, just as plenty of 21-year-olds who show promise in football, basketball and baseball never reach their potential.
But Jones is, without a doubt, the fighter the UFC most wants to promote with its upcoming Versus show, and a fighter the UFC views as a major draw in the future. He'll have a tough test against Brandon Vera, but if he wins that fight, look out: If Jones isn't a star yet, the UFC will try to make him one soon.
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