One of the greatest athletes in the world will compete this week in Las Vegas, and few seem to realize it.
By his own faults, Jon Jones has taken himself out of that conversation. A string of incidents reclassified the former UFC light heavyweight champion as one of the most troubled athletes in the world.
“There’s no secret I’ve had a lot of issues in my career,” Jones said.
Jones carries on an unfortunate tradition among top talents in combat sports, such as Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr., of derailing themselves with criminal activity. Jones hasn’t fought in more than a year after pleading guilty to a felony in connection with a hit-and-run that occurred in April 2015.
That came a few months after testing positive for cocaine before his last fight and three years after another crash resulted in an arrest on driving while intoxicated charges. Jones has spent two days in jail within the past month for violating his parole by getting cited with five tickets, including one for drag racing, a charge he’s heavily disputed.
All of this colors Jones’ return to the octagon, which comes on pay-per-view at 7 p.m. April 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the main event of UFC 197 against Ovince Saint Preux for an interim title.
Johnson vs. Jones
Jon Jones’ recent issues may have precluded him from matching Anderson Silva’s 10 consecutive title defenses, leaving another UFC 197 fighter in position to swipe the record Jones always wanted. Flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson will battle for his eighth consecutive title defense in the UFC 197 co-main event against Henry Cejudo. Johnson has not lost since the UFC added his natural 125-pound weight class four years ago. Cejudo could present new challenges, though. He is undefeated in mixed martial arts since taking up the sport after wrestling his way to a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics.
“I’m on a mission to prove to the world that you can get back on your feet after almost anything if you don’t give up on yourself,” Jones said. “It’s all about continuing to fight.”
Jones always has appeared engineered to fight. He merges the longest reach in UFC history — 84.5 inches — with a dizzying athleticism and vicious creativity to be a natural in mixed martial arts, like LeBron James is in basketball or Bryce Harper in baseball.
Jones pieces together his striking repertoire, grappling technique and wrestling ability in a symphonic rhythm, having put on one flawless performance after another to become, at 23, the youngest champion in UFC history. Jones’ encore after winning the belt included shredding four consecutive former champions in 18 months.
It felt like only a matter of time before Jones surpassed Anderson Silva’s coveted UFC record of 10 consecutive title defenses.
Jones reached eight in just more than three years after beating previously undefeated archrival Daniel Cormier, with whom he infamously incited a brawl in January 2015 at a news conference inside the MGM Grand lobby.
But the arc of Jones’ success shifted last April when he ran a red light early one morning and crashed into a car carrying a pregnant woman, breaking her arm. Jones ran from the scene. The UFC stripped him of his championship and served him an indefinite suspension.
“I feel as if this last situation really brought me to my knees,” Jones said. “I lost respect nationwide. I lost endorsements. I lost my job. I lost so much. For me, this was rock bottom.”
Watching Cormier assume the light heavyweight belt in his stead only added to Jones’ discontent. The two were scheduled to fight at UFC 197, but Cormier pulled out with a knee injury.
Jones wanted to stay on the card, so the UFC booked Saint Preux as a new opponent. Jones, 28, hopes to win his 13th consecutive fight coming off the longest layoff of his career.
Jones’ only career loss came to Matt Hamill in 2009, when Jones was disqualified for throwing illegal elbows. It’s poetic that Jones’ lone defeat came because of his own mistake, just another indication that the only person who can beat Jones is himself.
“If you have doubts on whether I’ve changed or not, that’s warranted,” Jones said. “I have a lot of proving to do.”
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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