Miesha Tates Has the Moral Highground in Twitter Feud With Jon Jones…
it’s one of the oddest online feuds in MMA history. Two former UFC champions are squaring off on Twitter. Nothing too unusual about that, except it’s not who you might expect. Jon Jones and Miesha Tate have been going at it on Twitter for the past couple of days, with neither willing to surrender.
Jones was in the news this week because of his well-publicised hearing with the Californian State Athletic Commission. His license to fight in California was revoked and he was fined $240,000. He has to go before the United States Anti-Doping Agency next and could be facing a ban of four to six years from professional competition.
Tate took issue with the way Jones defended himself. Rather than present evidence showing that he was innocent, he basically just swore he didn’t know. The former women’s bantamweight champion was one of many who wasn’t quite convinced. It’s resulted in a very entertaining online back and forth between the pair.
How it Began
Miesha Tate is not known for holding back. ‘Cupcake’ has remained vocal since her retirement and usually cuts to chase with her comments. She basically told Jones that he should take responsibility for his mistakes. Jones fired back, implying that she retired after losing her title because she lost heart. Tate responded:
“@jonnybones u make things tougher 4 urself, I hope u can figure it out this time but I’m not holding my breath. Supported u plenty in the past & if ur implying I’m a quitter that’s pretty low. There’s a time when all of us have to stop & Happy I walked away with a clean slate”
@jonnybones u make things tougher 4 urself, I hope u can figure it out this time but I’m not holding my breath. Supported u plenty in the past & if ur implying I’m a quitter that’s pretty low. There’s a time when all of us have to stop & Happy I walked away with a clean slate https://t.co/uOuhVzPAG4
— Miesha Tate (@MieshaTate) March 2, 2018
Jones Gives In
Jones is such a frustrating case because of his immense talent. It’s been overshadowed by his problems outside the octagon. ‘Bones’ has already served a one year ban for substance abuse and has been stripped an incredible three times by the UFC. His other misdemeanors include car crashes, drug abuse, and eye gouging in the octagon.
However, Jones acknowledged that Tate had the moral high ground and that he shouldn’t have responded to her the way he did. He replied:
“@MieshaTate Never meet negativity with negativity, I shouldn’t have responded to you in the first place. You won”.
@MieshaTate Never meet negativity with negativity, I shouldn’t have responded to you in the first place. You won
— BONY (@JonnyBones) March 2, 2018
Big Loss
It’s a pity that we might never see Jones fight in the octagon again. If he does get served a major ban by USADA, then that’s likely to be the case unless he goes off to another promotion that doesn’t care. He’s given us some fantastic moments. His rivalry with current light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is one of the greatest in UFC history.
Tate is another who might have finished just a little bit too soon. She remains a significant voice for the UFC and a pioneer for women’s MMA. Many active fighters will quietly agree with her words about Jones. You have to live with the choices you make. If he does get a comeback maybe Tate will be the first person he calls out? Ok… probably not.
