Bloody Elbow recently conducted an interview with FOX Sports analyst and retired UFC lightweight standout Yves Edwards, who weighed in on a variety of current news topics and also explained the issues he had with Brendan Schaub’s critique of the FOX Sports panel he is a part of. Yesterday, Part 1 was released and can be read HERE.

This post serves as the conclusion of the interview and covers Edwards’ thoughts on Jon Jones’ legacy, if/when he thinks Conor McGregor fights again this year, Sage Northcutt’s progress with Team Alpha Male, Cris Cyborg’s dominance, Leslie Smith’s efforts to unionize, Colby Covington’s propensity to make inflammatory remarks, Bellator’s future, and matchmaking the perfect fight when featuring a prime fighter from the past vs. a prime fighter from the present.

Stephie Haynes: With as many infractions as he has, both inside the sport and outside it, what’s your take on Jon Jones and do you think his legacy is beyond repair at this point?

The game is constantly changing and he was the bar. Jon Jones set the bar for the game. [...] He was so far ahead of everyone that we have seen him come and go and still look just as good, but that gap is still closing when you’re not in there, and if he gets a big suspension this time, that’s going to be an issue. Four years is a long time—that’s the lifetime of some careers.

Yves Edwards: Because I’m a fight fan, I hope that he hasn’t. But, it’s a huge possibility that he has. The game is constantly changing and he was the bar. Jon Jones set the bar for the game. I see it happening all the time with these younger fighters. We just saw Millender beat Thiago Alves. Thiago Alves is still great, but the game has changed. All the things that Thiago had to filter out of his game to make it work for mixed martial arts, Millender didn’t have to go through all of that. He started at a higher point. That’s how the evolution of the sport works.

I believe this affects Jon, also. Not being in the game actively, he’s not sharpening those tools. He was so far ahead of everyone that we have seen him come and go and still look just as good, but that gap is still closing when you’re not in there, and if he gets a big suspension this time, that’s going to be an issue. Four years is a long time—that’s the lifetime of some careers.

I’ve always been a big Jon Jones fan. I mean, he won a title just six fights in to the sport. Conor McGregor with Jon Jones would’ve been the perfect catalyst for making mixed martial arts the biggest sport in the world. I truly believe a combination of those two could have made the sport bigger than you could imagine.

Stephie Haynes: In this era of the sport, the gift of gab, being a heel, what have you, seems to be the vehicle to get the attention of company brass. Colby Covington has taken shit talking to an uncomfortable level and is one of the most polarizing figures in the sport. What’s your take on him?

Yves Edwards: It’s obviously an act with Colby, but there’s a thing about acting. At some point, and I’ve learned this through the little bit of acting I do in Hollywood, you have to be that person. For the time you’re filming the scene or making the scene in his case, you have to be that person, you have to assume the character.

I’ve met Colby, and he didn’t seem like this character he’s developed at all. I have no hung out with Colby in about a year, and the last time I saw him, I think it was just before these things started to come out. He didn’t seem like that kind of guy at the time. I don’t know if it’s an act completely or not, but I’d like to believe it is.

There’s something about brashness, and I think Conor McGregor opened the door to that, but at the same time, Conor was not as demeaning as this. When you start demeaning and denigrating people this way, that’s when you start crossing the line. He’s crossed that line a few times, so I get why some people don’t like him. As I said, I do believe it’s an act, but there’s a point where people stop recognizing it as an act and start thinking it’s really who you are.

I don’t really like where the sport is going with the, ‘Let’s make fights entertaining by having some manufactured animosity between the two fighters’ train of thought. Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier had legit bad blood. Jones didn’t have that heated banter with OSP or Gustafsson or Shogun, but he had a genuine dislike for Daniel Cormier. The realness of their beef made it so much more entertaining.

Conor McGregor is different. He has a way of pushing buttons that turns into real bad blood. He pushed Dustin Poirier, he pissed off Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo and everyone else that he’s fought. Even with Nate, and Nate is a guy that just doesn’t give a fuck, he managed to get under his skin. But, when the fights were over, things were squashed and that was it. Why was this different? Because there was a line that wasn’t crossed.

It’s like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. If you get to the top and can’t maintain, people remember how much and why they dislike you, and you’re going to disappear in no time and probably won’t get another opportunity to get back there.

Stephie Haynes: How do you think Sage Northcutt is progressing and do you see marked improvement in his skillset since being at Team Alpha Male?

Yves Edwards: I think he’s growing. Being at Alpha Male, that’s huge, and having Urijah and those guys to coach him—Danny Castillo, especially, is just what he needs at this early stage of his career. You can definitely see improvement in his game. Could he learn from other people? Yes, but I think that’s a great place for him. He’s young and will get better. I don’t know him personally and I can’t really speak definitively to his character, but he seems to be a humble guy that’s willing to learn and his improvement is reflective of that.

He has that look, though, and it’s one that the sharks are going to want. He has to be protected a little until he gets to the point where he can take on anybody. Being at Alpha Male is a good camp choice and a great start on that path. He’s in one of the right places, for sure. At 22, he’s part of the future of the sport and if he stays dedicated to improvement and motivated, we could see something great out of him.

Stephie Haynes: Bellator has been making news with their high-profile signings of aging fighters and news around the sport says they are trying to iron out a multi-million dollar deal with 48-year-old Chuck Liddell. Do you think these signings are a good thing or will it bite them in the ass at some point?

Bellator is a good organization with great fights and fighters, but their reach is not what it should be, in my opinion. Their advertising and promotion of fighters, I believe that needs to change. You’re the second biggest promotion in the world, and you’re still trying to make your gate with local fighters selling tickets.

Yves Edwards: Bleeding money is not good for any organization, and even though Paramount has tons of money to throw around, they don’t want to just flush it unnecessarily. Bellator is a good organization with great fights and fighters, but their reach is not what it should be, in my opinion. Their advertising and promotion of fighters, I believe that needs to change. You’re the second biggest promotion in the world, and you’re still trying to make your gate with local fighters selling tickets.

It’s strange how obvious the mistakes they make are to everyone else but them. Their tape-delays…with the way social media is, those results are out, and when you already know the results, you’re not going to take time out of your day to sit down and watch it.

Bellator has some real quality fighters and some really good fights, but if I have to wait for it when there’s all this other content and product out there, I’m gonna watch those things and will likely forget about a Bellator on tape delay. I don’t know who’s making these decisions, but I just don’t get it. Make your events live! Paramount has the ability to do this.

Stephie Haynes: Conor McGregor is still on the sidelines with no fight in sight. He had a new Burger King commercial come out this week and has plenty of big name, big money sponsor deals in place. He made a killing off the Mayweather fight. Do you think we see him fight this year?

Yves Edwards: I do think we see him fight this year, but it won’t be until late, like in the fourth quarter. This guy was on welfare less than a decade ago and now he’s a mulit-millionaire on yachts and private jets, but he still loves fighting. There’s no way that you can’t love it when you’ve done it at the level he has. Even if you don’t reach the heights he’s reached in popularity or get to those lofty financial heights he’s reached, when you’ve competed on that championship level, it’s hard to get away from that.

I just don’t see him not coming back. The cool thing about it is he doesn’t have to fight for money now. We’re gonna see him back this year. I just don’t know against who or when, but I want to see it. I’d love to see him against Ferguson or even Max Holloway again. Everybody wants to see him against Khabib, but we all have a belief in how that’s going to turn out.

Stephie Haynes: You made a tweet after UFC 222 that said that Cris Cyborg fights should have to start with her on the bottom in closed guard for fairness. Do you think the UFC might have rushed the women’s featherweight division, in light of the fact that there are only bantamweights for her to fight right now?

Cyborg’s fights should start with Cyborg on bottom in closed guard. Just to make it fair #ufc222 #whyyougotajesuspiece — Yves Edwards (@thugjitsumaster) March 4, 2018

Yves Edwards: There’s not a whole lot of women at 145 for her to fight, but I’m glad they made the division. I was in the UFC when they didn’t have enough shows to support five champions, and a woman like Cyborg, to be on the biggest stage, she deserves it, she’s earned it. That said, I do think they could put more effort into building that division.

Stephie Haynes: Leslie Smith has been working tirelessly in an effort to get fighters unionized in an effort to get better representation for them. Other organizations have tried in the past with similar goals, but not much headway has been made. Do you think that Leslie might be able to crack the code and succeed where others haven’t, or is it too soon for it to actually work because fighters are still looking at the sport from a “me” stance instead of a “we” stance?

Yves Edwards: I don’t think it’s too soon, but I do believe the support is not big enough. There has to be a large group to do this. Fighters truly should have a union or association, because it’s a one-sided affair. I hope she’s the one to do it. Sometimes you need a woman to lead the charge.

I don’t understand why more people don’t join in and hold hands and become a front. It’s a necessity, an inevitable one at that, but that inevitability needs to be pushed forward some. It’s hard to believe that athletes are in one of the biggest sports in the world, in the biggest organization, and still have to work a day job.

I don’t understand why more people don’t join in and hold hands and become a front. It’s a necessity, an inevitable one at that, but that inevitability needs to be pushed forward some. It’s hard to believe that athletes are in one of the biggest sports in the world, in the biggest organization, and still have to work a day job.

Stephie Haynes: My final question is a fun one to take us out of the interview. If you could play matchmaker and pair up a fighter in their prime from the past with a fighter in their prime from the present, what would that bout look like?

Yves Edwards: There’s a couple of those I’d make [laughs]. A prime Fedor vs. Stipe Miocic. A prime Yves Edwards or a prime B.J. Penn vs. Conor McGregor. A prime Matt Hughes vs. Tyron Woodley. A prime Chuck Liddell vs. Jon Jones.

*You can catch Part 1 of this interview HERE

**Make sure to check out Yves’ podcast, The Thugjitsu Master and Squid Show, on any streaming platform. Here’s a new clip to check out with special guest, Firas Zahabi: