1. Jonathan Dwight Jones was born on July 19,1987 and is an American professional mixed martial artist.
75 Facts About Jon Jones
1. 2.
Jon Jones currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is the current UFC Heavyweight Champion.
3.
Jon Jones is regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time.
4.
Jon Jones holds many UFC records in the light heavyweight division, including the most title defenses, most wins, and longest win streak.
5.
Jon Jones is the only fighter ever to beat five former UFC champions consecutively.
6.
Between 2015 and 2017, Jones was involved in several controversies and lost his title three times as a result of disciplinary action.
7.
Jon Jones was first stripped of his title and removed from the official rankings by the UFC in 2015 after he was arrested on felony hit-and-run charges.
8.
Jon Jones voluntarily vacated the title in 2020 and spent three years away from MMA before returning in 2023 to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship against Ciryl Gane, making history as just the eighth UFC fighter to become a two-division champion.
9.
Jon Jones's father Arthur is a pastor at Mount Sinai Church of God in Christ in Binghamton, New York.
10.
Jon Jones's older brother, Arthur, is a former American football defensive lineman who played for the Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins, while his younger brother, Chandler, last played as an outside linebacker for the Las Vegas Raiders.
11.
Jon Jones played football as a defensive lineman; due to his slight frame, his coach nicknamed him "Bones".
12.
Jon Jones won the fight via TKO in the second round.
13.
Jon Jones appeared fatigued in the third round but won the fight by unanimous decision.
14.
In September 2009, Jones was rewarded for his victories by signing a new, four-fight contract with the UFC.
15.
On December 5,2009, Jones fought fellow light heavyweight prospect Matt Hamill at The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale.
16.
The Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts prohibited downward elbow strikes, and Jones was initially only penalized a point from the round.
17.
Jon Jones won the fight by TKO after an elbow to Vera's face followed up with various punches in the first round.
18.
Reports that Jones had previously been offered a match with Nogueira, but turned it down, turned out to be false.
19.
On March 19,2011, at UFC 128, Jones defeated Rua by TKO at 2:37 of Round 3, becoming the youngest ever UFC champion.
20.
Jones's first title defense was expected to be on August 6,2011, at UFC 133 against Rashad Evans, his former friend and teammate, but Jones was sidelined with a hand injury.
21.
In 2012, Jones said that this was his favorite fight up to that point.
22.
However, a lingering thumb injury cost another title opportunity for Evans, and Jones instead faced Lyoto Machida at the same event.
23.
On November 13,2013, it was announced that Jones would fight Teixeira at UFC 170, scheduled for February 22,2014; however, the next day it was announced that the match had been removed from the card.
24.
Jon Jones became the first person to take Cormier down, scoring three takedowns in total.
25.
On October 23,2015, the UFC announced that Jones had been reinstated to the active roster, nearly six months after his suspension was announced.
26.
However, on July 6,2016, Jones was removed from the bout by USADA on June 16 after a potential doping violation.
27.
On November 7,2016, it was announced that Jones had been suspended for one year by USADA, retroactive to July 7.
28.
Two days later, it was announced that Jones had been stripped of his interim title, making him the first fighter in UFC history to be stripped of a title twice.
29.
In September 2018, it was announced by USADA that Jones would serve a suspension of 15 months.
30.
Jon Jones won the back-and-forth match via split decision, defending his title for the second time.
31.
Jon Jones won the bout and earned the title via a guillotine choke submission in the first round.
32.
However, Jones was forced to pull out due to injury after tearing a pectoral tendon.
33.
Jon Jones won the fight by technical knockout via a spinning back kick followed by punches in the third round.
34.
In January 2008, Jones participated in the Northeastern Grappler's Challenge, an event hosted by Team Bomb Squad, his original team, in Ithaca, New York.
35.
Once locked in, Jones shifted his body weight, and Henderson was forced to tap with just over a minute left in regulation.
36.
Jon Jones trained as a power-lifter during his suspension from the UFC.
37.
Jon Jones's regimen includes a combination of wrestling drills, striking practice, grappling sessions, and high-intensity functional training, all designed to enhance his overall fight game.
38.
Jon Jones employs a diverse kicking technique, favoring front kicks to the body and head, roundhouse kicks to the legs and upper body, and his most known technique, the "oblique kick", a controversial move that targets his opponent's knee.
39.
The oblique kick was a technique popularized by Bruce Lee, whom Jones cited as an inspiration.
40.
Jon Jones uses Greco-Roman wrestling takedowns like lateral drops from overhooks, as well as a variety of judo throws, like osoto gari, harai goshi and deashi harai, which he claims he picked up by watching them on YouTube.
41.
On February 23,2022, Jones announced via Twitter that his fiancee Jessie had left him around two months prior.
42.
On March 19,2011, Jones was en route to Great Falls Historic Park in Paterson, New Jersey, where he planned to meditate several hours ahead of his fight against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 128.
43.
Jon Jones was accompanied by his coaches Mike Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson.
44.
Jon Jones is the first MMA fighter to have his own shoe line, and the first MMA fighter to represent Gatorade and MuscleTech in the Octagon.
45.
On December 16,2014, Jones announced that he had signed a sponsorship deal with Reebok.
46.
In March 2025, it was announced that Jones is a co-owner of "Dirty Boxing Championship".
47.
In December 2019, Jones donated and handed out $20,000 worth of coats to homeless people in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
48.
Jon Jones partnered with a local charity to give out hot meals and toys to children.
49.
In February 2025, Jones partnered with Power to the Patients, a healthcare reform group, to advocate for more affordable and accessible healthcare through real prices and systemwide price transparency.
50.
On September 23,2014, Jones was fined $50,000 and was ordered to undergo 40 hours of community service by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
51.
That evening, Jones turned himself in to the Albuquerque Police Department.
52.
The judge lifted any travel restrictions, and Jones was allowed to remain free, as long as he remained in contact with his lawyer and followed certain conditions.
53.
Moses stated that Jones had left the hotel to go out with friends while Moses and their children went to sleep, and that when Jones returned, he was belligerent, became agitated, and pulled her hair.
54.
Jon Jones claimed that the hair pulling was the extent of the physicality between the two, and that the blood on her face and clothing was from chapped lips.
55.
Police stated that while he was being detained, a belligerent Jones headbutted the hood of the patrol vehicle, leaving a dent, had made threats and challenged the arresting officers to a fight, and had said he could break free from the handcuffs.
56.
Jon Jones was taken to the Clark County jail where he was charged with one count of domestic battery, a misdemeanor, and one count of tampering with a police vehicle, a felony.
57.
Jon Jones pleaded guilty to DUI charges and was order to pay a $1,000 fine, install ignition interlocks on all of his vehicles, complete a victims impact class, and had his driver's license suspended for six months.
58.
On July 21,2019, it was reported that Jones had been charged with battery for an alleged incident in April 2019 involving a cocktail waitress at a strip club in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
59.
The waitress claimed that Jones slapped her, put her in a choke hold and kissed her on the neck, and touched her after she had asked him to stop.
60.
The bench trial of the case was held on September 26,2019, where Jones pleaded no contest to the charges and received a 90-day deferred sentence whereby he must avoid arrest, not violate the law, consume no alcohol or drugs and not return to the scene.
61.
Jon Jones was ordered to pay court fees during his unsupervised probation period, as per the court document.
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Altogether, Jones was charged with aggravated DWI, negligent use of a firearm, possession of an open container, and driving with no proof of insurance.
63.
Jon Jones was sentenced to four days' house arrest, one year of supervised probation, a minimum of 90 days of outpatient therapy, and he must complete 48 hours of community service.
64.
On March 30,2024, Crystal Martinez, a drug-testing agent from Drug Free Sport filed a police report stating that Jones allegedly assaulted her and threatened to kill her during a recent visit to his home when she was tasked with collecting a urine sample as part of the UFC's anti-doping program.
65.
In July 2024, Jones pled not guilty to both misdemeanor charges, with bench trial being set to take place on August 22.
66.
On October 29,2024, Jones agreed to attend four hours of anger management classes to resolve charges.
67.
On January 6,2015, it was announced that Jones failed a drug test prior to UFC 182.
68.
Jon Jones tested positive for benzoylecgonine, the primary metabolite of cocaine.
69.
Jon Jones was randomly tested on December 3,2014, and results came back on December 23.
70.
Jon Jones passed the second test, which meant that the cocaine metabolite was out of his system before the fight.
71.
On July 8,2016, a urine sample from Jones tested positive for two banned substances, clomiphene, an anti-estrogen substance, and letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor, prior to his scheduled championship bout with Cormier at UFC 200.
72.
On November 7,2016, it was announced that Jones was issued a one-year suspension by USADA following his arbitration hearing, though the panel concluded that Jones did not take the banned substances intentionally, and was not a drug cheat.
73.
Jon Jones tested positive for Turinabol, an anabolic steroid, and was placed on a provisional suspension as a result of the positive drug test.
74.
Jones stated that he did not knowingly take any prohibited substances, with his team believing Jones consumed tainted substances.
75.
Thirty months were deducted from the four-year suspension because Jones provided "substantial assistance" to USADA.