(A picture says a thousand words…like, “Why is there a SPIKE TV camera man’s reflection in the windshield of that car?”)

When Jon Jones unbelievable story of chasing down and capturing a thief in the hours prior to his UFC 128 championship bout with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua made the rounds, it seemed like an unbelievable story. Well, at least one source claims that the incident was a staged PR move to designed to get the UFC light heavyweight and the sport of MMA more mainstream press.

Mission accomplished.

Thanks to the Zuffa creative team, who are said to have cooked up the plot to the fake robbery that took place Saturday afternoon outside of in New Jersey park, Jones was invited to appear on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night to talk about his incredible crime fighting tale.

The photo below above was allegedly taken at the scene seconds after Jones and his trainer Greg Jackson “apprehended” the suspect.

Besides the obvious plant of “The Golden Voice Hobo,” who just happened to be on the scene, there were a few clues that should have tipped us off that this was a SPIKE TV collaboration.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

Look for the footage of in the next episode of Jon Jones: In the Moment.

(Source)

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*Editor’s Note: Due the surprisingly large number of readers who felt that this obviously satirical story was real, we felt the need to add the following disclaimer:

Some conspiracy theorists started the absolutely ridiculous rumors that the UFC staged the robbery incident involving popular UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones to increase his star power. In an effort to point out the lunacy of this notion that Jones needed a push when his star power is at an all-time high, we posted the lampoon piece above in which we (perhaps too subtly) pointed out progressively more obviously doctored aspects of the photograph for comedic value. Since so many people took the piece to heart (perhaps due to being Rick-Rolled), we felt it was necessary to ruin the punchline to clarify how satire works. It was either this explanation or a photo of a herd of sheep, but we felt the photo would have been misconstrued to mean something related to bestiality and we didn’t want PETA to ban us from their events.

For those who don’t follow:

1. There was NO SPIKE TV camera man on the scene.

2. There was NO boom microphone in the photo.

3. Burt Watson WAS NOT the robber and his head IS NOT on backwards.

4. There WAS NO second shooter.