Humans tend to have their own fair share of troubled pasts and circumstances in their lives, athletes are no different. In the world of MMA, one such name that pops up in mind right off the bat is Jon Jones, who recently captured gold after finishing Ciryl Gane via submission in the very first round of their much anticipated heavyweight bout at UFC 285.
Jon Jones couldn’t help but have his life made public from a very young age. He attained UFC gold in the Light Heavyweight division at the mere age of 23, becoming the youngest champion to ever exist in the history of the company, a record which has yet to be broken. Since then, he has been on a tear, defending his title for a record number of times against nothing but straight killers, from the likes of Rampage Jackson to Glover Teixeira.
Steroid abuse allegations, off-air death threats, having an entire PPV event moved to a new location last minute, hit-and-run, DUIs, having lucrative sponsorship deals cut off; you name it, ‘Bones’ has gone through it all, and surprisingly, he has somehow survived and thrived. While a good chunk of the MMA world seems to always talk about his troubled life, Jon isn’t one to distract himself from proving his greatness inside the Octagon.
Jon Jones allegedly hit his fiance in September 2021
Back in the September of 2021, everything seemed to have been going really well for ‘Bones‘, especially when his legendary 2013 battle against Alexander Gustafsson got inducted into the Hall of Fame. The very next early morning, Jones was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery for domestic violence and tampering with a police vehicle. UFC boss Dana had this to say about Jon, “This guy’s got a lot of demons, man, a lot of demons.”
According to a Las Vegas police report, Jon allegedly left his fiancée Jessie Moses bloodied up, hinting at a possible assault made by him in a room at Caesar’s Palace. However, this isn’t the worst of it all. Further investigation brought to light that the phone call made to the Las Vegas police was allegedly made by one of Jon’s three daughters who were apparently present during the time of the alleged assault.
Later on, the domestic charge was dropped by the Las Vegas Justice court. The MMA GOAT was then ordered to pay restitution for tampering with the police vehicle, which, per what appears in a police body cam video, seems to have put a dent using his head. Jon wasn’t shy to speak about the subject on his social media, despite his comments section being filled with harsh words on this sensitive subject.
Dana White, who has had contract disputes with Jones in the past, had some very specific words to utter about this, at the UFC 285 post-fight presser. At UFC 285, Jones won the heavyweight title via submission against Ciryl Gane. After the event was over, Dana went on to say, “I told Hunter [Campbell], charter a [private] jet and send him back to New Mexico [Jon Jones’ home] right now.”
Dana burst into laughter, before finishing it off with “Let’s get him home, safe and sound.”
Is the ‘good guy’ Jon Jones just a persona created by ‘the GOAT’ in an attempt to win over the fans? Or has Jon’s outside-the-Octagon personality really changed for the better? Only time will tell.