The life and career of one of the best Light Heavyweight fighters the UFC has ever seen 

Jon Jones is a 34-year-old MMA fighter who currently competes in the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division.  Jon Jones has spent over 11 years fighting for the UFC and during that time has racked up an impressive 26 wins. 

Jones has 4 children and lives in New York. He has been arrested 3 times. He has only ever lost one match in the UFC and that was because of a controversial disqualification. He is currently 3rd in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings.

Jones holds many records in the Light Heavyweight division and an incredibly controversial career, but not many people know who he is. Let’s change that today. 

The beginning 

Before joining the UFC, Jones amassed seven undefeated victories in the first 3 months of his career. It was this record that caught the attention of the UFC and they were not disappointed with his performance. Jones won his first three fights with the company. 

Jones was disqualified from his fourth match (2010) for the illegal use of elbows. The UFC disagreed with the choice of the referee and attempted to get the result overturned – but this failed. To date, this is the only match that Jones has ever lost. There are many including Jones and high level members of the UFC that don’t consider this an official loss. 

Over the next year, the UFC pitted Jones against multiple former championship holders in his division. He was promised if he beat all of them then he would get a shot at the title. He won all the matches and in March 2011 Jones defeated Maurício “Shogun” Rua and became the Light Heavyweight Champion for the first time. 

Over the next four years, Jones won 8 consecutive fights. One of these fights was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, and many believe it to be the “greatest UFC fight ever”. 

Jones defended his title until 2015. Then, due to some legal issues outside the ring (see the section below), Jones was stripped of the title. 

Jones returned to the UFC six months later. On his return, he fought and beat Ovince Saint Preux. Before he had a chance to fight again Jones was suspended due to a failed drug test and the performance enhancing drugs that were found in his system. He was stripped of his title again and became the first UFC champion to have their title stripped from them twice. 

Jones returned to the UFC (again) in 2017. His first fight was with Daniel Cormier. Jones won this fight and reclaimed his Light HeavyWeight title again. However, before his next fight, Jones failed another drugs test and was stripped of his title for the third time. 

Jones is the only person to be stripped of their title 3 times. He also holds the record for the longest time defending the Light Heavyweight title. 

The suspensions and controversies  

Jones has been suspended from the UFC three times. The first time he was suspended because of his involvement in a hit-and-run on a pregnant woman. After 6 months, Jon Jones returned to the UFC again, beat Ovince Saint Preux, and reclaimed his title. 

The second time he was suspended for suspected doping by the USADA and the NSAC – he was banned from competing for a year. After returning, Jones was suspended again for doping and was initially suspended for 48 months – this was later dropped to 30. 

Jones has also failed 4 other drugs tests throughout his career. On one of these tests, he tested positive for Cocaine. In the other three tests, he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. 

In 2014, Jones was fined $50,000 after he punched a competitor at a press conference. He was also forced to do 48 hours of community service by the NSCA. 

Jones has also been accused of eye poking throughout his career. The move is illegal in the UFC but it is hard to catch players doing it during a fight. After an interview where a UFC official seemed to imply Jones was not doing it on purpose, Jones also came out and said any incidents of eye poking were unintentional. 

His future? 

Jones finished his third suspension in 2020 and made it very clear that he was planning to return to the UFC if they would have him. CEO of the UFC, Dana White, said that he would like to see Jones return but that he would return in the Heavyweight Division. 

However, Jon Jones has not been involved in any fights since finishing his suspension – partly, because he has been arrested twice since then. 

Do you think we will see Jones return in 2022? If you do, check out Fanduel’s MMA odds.