One of the most well-known fighters signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Jon ‘Bones’ Jones is a mixed martial artist of American origin. He is the current and two-time light heavy weight champion and is considered by many observers as one of the best fighters ever to set foot in the octagon. In the UFC pound to pound, he was ranked as the number one fighter.
Early Life:
Born on 19th July, 1987 in Rochester, New York, Jonathan Dwight Jones was raised along with three siblings by his father who was a pastor in Birmingham. His brothers- Chandler Jones and Arthur Jones are also athletes but are professional football players unlike Jones who decided be a professional fighter much against his father’s wishes. Jon Jones became an active member of the high school wrestling team and also the state champion.
He got his present nickname from his school football team coach who called Jones as ‘Bones’ due to his skinny physique. He dropped out of Iowa Central Community College, which he joined after graduating high school, to pursue a career in MMA.
Career:
Back in 2008, Jon Jones had his first fight in UFC and there has been no looking back since then. He became the youngest -ever UFC Champion at the age of 24 by defeating Mauricio ‘Shotgun’ Ruo.
With 13 title defenses, 26 opponents and multiple generation of fighters, no one has yet figured out on how to beat Jones.
Elite strikers such as Lyoto Machida, Olympic level wrestlers such as Daniel Cormier and World Championship boxers such as Alexander Gustafsson has been defeated by him. He impressed everyone by beating big names like Rampage Jackson, Chael Sonnen and Ryan Bader.
Net Worth and Salary:
The net worth of Jon Jones is estimated to be more than 10 million dollars and he has earned over $7,230,000 in his career.
Brand Endorsements:
He was the first MMA fighter to be sponsored internationally by Nike. He had some other huge endorsement deals with brands like Reebok, GAT Sports, Muscle Tech and K-Swiss.
Controversies inside the Octagon:
In 2009, Jones was disqualified against Matt Hail for using downward elbow strikes.
In 2012, UFC 145 was cancelled as he controversially refused to fight against Chael Sonnen, who had stepped in at the last moment to replace injured Dan Henderson.
Jones was fined $50,000 by the Nevada Athletic Commission and was sentenced to 40 hours of community service as he had touched his forehead to Daniel Cornier which had led to a brief tussle.
He failed his drug test in 2015 and has been tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2016. The same incident has been repeated time and again for which in 2017 he was stripped off his prior victory against Cormier and his UFC Title.
Controversies outside the Octagon:
In 2012, he was charged with DUI after crashing into a pole.
In 2015, he fled a heavy traffic collision which had caused injury to a pregnant lady. This led him to getting stripped of the UFC light heavyweight championship title.
He was arrested again in March 2020 for driving under the influence of alcohol and negligence of using firearm.
Relationships:
Jessie Moses is Jon Jones’ long-time girlfriend and fiancée with whom he has three daughters: Carmen Nicole Jones, Olivia Haven Jones and Leah Jones
