In 2015, Jon Jones, considered to be one of the biggest talents in MMA, was suspended and had his UFC light heavyweight title stripped from him. The young athlete was involved in a hit-and-run car accident with a pregnant woman.
Prior to that, Jones had also been involved in a handful of other controversies. In 2012, Jones was arrested for a DUI as he had driven his Bentley Continental GT into a pole in Binghamton, New York. In 2014, Jones tested positive for benzoylecgonine, the primary metabolite of cocaine. But since it was not a banned out-of-competition substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency, he was still able to defend his belt at UFC 182 where he defeated Daniel Cormier. Additionally, who could forget the skirmish the two fighters had in a promotional event leading up to UFC 178 where they were originally set to meet.
Once again, Jones is having legal issues. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Deputy has cited that Jones was caught on Jan. 31, 2016 driving without a license and registration. Jones will be appearing in court this Wednesday.
His battles with the legal system has set him back. His hit-and-run had him sentenced up to 18 months of supervised probation. He was reinstated six months later.
At only 28 years old, Jones had accomplished far more in his MMA career than many of the considered greats. At the age of 23, Jones had won the light heavyweight strap taking it away from Maurício “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128. He brutalized Rua through two rounds and eventually TKO’d him in the third.
He defended his title multiple times. His reign had him adding Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira and Cormier to his resume.
If Jones would have been able to steer clear of all the legal battles that he’s faced outside of the Octagon, the claim to him being one of the greatest fighters of all time would have been further legitimized.
Having been a high school state champion at Union-Endicott High School and a national JUCO champion at Iowa Central Community College, Jones was able to brilliantly transfer his amateur wrestling skills into his MMA career.
Training at Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Jones was able to hone in on his skills and add an eclectic artillery of offensive strikes to his wrestling. From teep kicks to spinning elbows and deadly knees, Jones was evolving into one of the most exciting fighters.
And now, Jones is set to return April 23, 2016 at UFC 197 where he will try to reclaim the title he had lost. During his suspension, Cormier and Anthony Johnson had fought for the vacant belt at UFC 187. Cormier came out the victor and then defended it once against Gustafsson at UFC 192.
Leading up to the confrontation with the former Olympian and current champion, Jones had been posting photos and videos of himself training on Instagram. Instead of waiting for a training camp prior to the fight, he’s been increasing his strength and staying in shape. According to Jones, this is something that he’s never been able to do when he was living in New York. If this was the case, then he may now be even better since his suspension.
Still in his prime, Jones has a lot of time left to cement himself as being one of the greatest fighters of all time. If he wins his title back and moves up to the heavyweight division and wins that title, then there’s no denying the claim to him being part of the upper echelon of combat athletes. He would even be ranked amongst the likes of Muhammad Ali.
The man whom many call “Bones” just needs to stay focused on evolving as a fighter. He needs to stay away from the reckless decisions he’s been making ever since he became a star and was able to earn millions of dollars.
