El Bresko

Rory seems fine, he's straight up, hasn't really done anything too bad. He was so tame in his pre fight talk to BJ it was ridiculous, I don't think he responded negatively once to BJ basically accusing him of roiding.

My opinion on Jones is well known around these parts.

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buddyface

Pure and simple I blame Vince McMahon. He created the whole heel/face thing and then pro wrestling became real and the fans didn't know who or what they were cheering for or against. MMA is like post modern pro wrestling except there are fewer marriage, rise from the dead, and gay story lines. Other than that it's fun watching either one of these two beat the hell out of someone else in a sanctioned bout.

No_Mercy

Lolz...funny, but true to an extent. Boxing had its share of colourful characters.

Rory hasn't even gone to the depths his counterpart has yet. The LHW title holder gets booed everywhere. There's a lot of Pacific Islanders in Seattle plus BJ just has a big fan base. I think that was the first time I heard any boos. Heck Anderson gets booed as long as it's not in Brazil.

I think the best fans are Brazillians and Japanese which is extremely polar opposites followed by Aussies, then Canadian fans. Come to think about it wonder why there hasn't been one in Russia yet. Dubai fans were pretty knowledgeable. I remember people wanting to root for Renzo, but knowing that Hughes would probably take it. As for UK they're quite the boisterous crowd, but I think they come to see stand ups mainly and get restless when it hits the ground.

As for the LHW title holder yall know where I stand. Rory I think it's an isolated incident.

Heels are a part of support and I thank Chael for being the top heel. I actually texted em for being hella disrespectful to Anderson...no joke. No reply. At least I won money off the fight.

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Marcus Aurelius: Tell me again, Maximus, why are we here?
Maximus: For the glory of the Empire, sire.

Baked, not fried... the healthy choice.

luckbox

As most people have said, the two cases are a bit different. Jon Jones is a [insert derogatory term]. The heat he is getting is justified. Rory is a weirdo and seems like kind of a sociopath in the spotlight, but I don't think he will get nearly as much hate as Jones. Rory just smashed the biggest hardcore fan favorite in the sport, don't forget. People will be butthurt, and I'm no exception.

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ptw

When did Rory start getting as much heat as Jones? So he tooled BJ and called out the one guy who beat him...the difference between Rory and Jones is that Rory doesn't have a self righteous attitude and a pretentious demeanor. Rory keeps it pretty real, and I respect that.

It's fun to make fun of the guy though because he's still young and isn't super confident with who he is yet, so he comes off kind of creepy and fiendish. It would be hilarious though if he embraced the stereotype that he's some stone cold psychopath who doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself, if he rolled with it, no one would hate him for it.

John8204

Not only is the hate not justifiable it's downright idiotic.

People think Rory is a weird serial killer, because he said he wanted "revenge" against Carlos Condit. I remind you the guy he beat



this guy, licked the blood of his opponents off his gloves. When Rory demonstrates cannibalism that BJ does I'll hear you out. But in truth the life of a fighter

Stage 1 You are ignored by everyone, you are a nobody, a can.
Stage 2 You start to get good and therefore "hyped" and worthy of hate.
Stage 3 We find something about you to polarize the fan base and you are hated.
Stage 4 You might become a "legend" and well liked...this stage doesn't always happen.
stage 5 Your over the hill, done and you need to retire.

Hiro

Personality certainly plays a big part. Jones and MacDonald are both odd characters at least in the spotlight.

Fans tend to like conventional, relative to this industry. That means Chuck running around screaming like a lunatic when he got a KO, BJ licking his gloves, JDS slashing his chest etc is all fine and actually gets people pumped up. But straight up smarmy cockiness is very rarely appreciated. Ali shuffles fall into thi category, especially during a fight in which one of the long term legends of this sport is officially being pushed aside for good.

John8204 makes a good point about the lifecycle too. Rashad Evans is the prime example of a fighter initially hated and then cheered on in most fights. His smarmy cockiness wasn't liked and nor was he, but now he's earned his stripes and is a popular fighter and HUGE ppv draw. Despite all Jones' PR mistakes and UFC 151 mess, I think he'll reach the same stage as Evans in a few years. It might take a humbling loss to do it though.