“I don’t believe a champion is the biggest, baddest, meanest dude in the world,” he said. “I think the champion is like a warrior; it’s like the head knight or lead samurai: humble men of integrity, respect and honor that treat people kindly.”

Not that Jones is perfect. He is still capable of behaving irresponsibly, as evidenced when he crashed his Bentley into a utility pole in Binghamton, N.Y., and was charged with driving under the influence last year.

“I’m just like everybody else, for the most part,” Jones said. “Make a mistake, then learn from it.”

Although Jones is not the typical mixed martial arts fighter, U.F.C. is using its promotional muscle to make him its next big draw. White, the president and co-owner, can talk a dime out of a parking meter, but even he might not be able to turn Jones into a master of sound bites. If he can sell a 12-loss fighter like Sonnen in a pay-per-view bout against someone who has come through his career virtually unscathed, White can probably conjure a way to overcome Jones’s equanimity.

The simple truth, and the most whopping contradiction of all, is that in a sport filled with tough guys, Jones is perfectly comfortable with who he is: a mild-mannered Clark Kent who every few months has to walk into a cage and play Superman. He says publicly and repeatedly that he does not relish inflicting pain. And no matter how that is spun, it is still not helpful in the selling of a sport built on animosities, real or manufactured.

And when he does hurt someone?

“Yeah, I don’t think Jon really loves that experience,” Winkeljohn said. “He’s got no problems once the cage door is shut, but I’ve never seen him behave like that in the gym.”

Winkeljohn recounted an instance when a new sparring partner landed some blows on an unprepared Jones. He did not respond to the breach in training etiquette. The next day, trainers and fighters braced for some form of retribution.

“Instead, what did Jon do?” Winkeljohn said. “He faked something and jumped up in the air and brought the knee up right to the guy’s face and stopped on a dime, as if to say: ‘That was a mistake. Don’t do it again. Now, welcome to the team.’ That’s Jon Jones.”