Jonathan Dwight Jones or Jon Jones in short, is an American MMA fighter currently signed with UFC
in the Light Heavyweight division. Also known as Bones, he is the current and two-time undisputed
champion of his division. He also held it as an interim champion once, thus taking the total count to
three times. As a Light Heavyweight fighter, Jon Jones holds multiple records at UFC, like most
number of successful and consecutive title defences, longest winning streak, most victories and most
wins by submission.
Early Life and Career
Before Jon Jones was a professional MMA fighter, he was a wrestler and a football player in high
school. His two brothers Arthur Jones and Chandler Jones are both professional NFL players. As a
wrestler, he was a state champion at Union-Endicott High School in New York. He dropped out of his
law college to pursue a career in MMA. After his debut in 2008, he amassed an undefeated record of
6-0 over a time period of three months. In his last fight before he joined UFC as a replacement
fighter, he defeated Moyses Gabin for the USKBA Heavyweight Championship via TKO.
Career at UFC
Jon Jones came to UFC as a replacement for Tomasz Drwal in August, 2008 against Andre Gusmao.
When he won the Light Heavyweight title in March, 2011 defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, he
became the youngest UFC champion ever and then defeated the title against Quinton Jackson. He
won an interim championship in 2016, but was stripped off the title when he failed the drug test
before his UFC 200 match against Daniel Cormier. After returning in July, 2017, he defeated Cormier
to win his second Light Heavyweight Championship, but he failed the drug test once more, thereby
losing the title again.
His potential four-year ban came down to a year’s suspension due to lack of enough evidence and
upon returning, he defeated Alexander Gustafsson in UFC 232 to become the reigning champion of
UFC Light Heavyweight division. His current record is 23-1.
