Jon “Bones” Jones had everything going for him. He was virtually unbeatable in UFC with his only loss coming by disqualification. He was the youngest champion in UFC history. The only way someone would beat him is if he beat himself, and that’s exactly what happened. Not too long after testing positive for cocaine in his system before his title fight Daniel Cormier. He was fined $25,000, but not stripped of his title at that point. I’ve been a fan of Jon Jones and he has been my favorite fighter for a while. I think that the pressure of being on top got to him, or maybe he got bored and decided he needed an edge of some sort, I forgave him for the cocaine incident, but what happened after was shocking.
On April 27th, there were reports that he was involved in a hit and run accident involving 2 other vehicles in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Police say he was seen fleeing and running away from the accident in a white button up shirt and dark pants. According to reports, Jones ran back to the vehicle to grab cash and starting running off again. A pipe and a small amount of marijuana was also found in Jones car. An arrest warrant was issued for him and Jones later turned himself in. He is facing felony charges for causing bodily injury to a 25-year-old pregnant woman. The same night that he was charged he posted $2,500 bail and was released. Later on that day the UFC announced that he was stripped of his title and removed from the UFC rankings, and he was also suspended indefinitely.
Jones made his professional MMA début in the spring of 2008 where he went (6-0-0) over a three-month period. He finished all 6 of his opponents. Jones was finally in the UFC with his first bout against Andre Gusmao at UFC 87 on Aug. 9, 2008. This was a short notice fight for Jones as he only had 2 weeks to prepare due to a withdraw from Tomasz Drwal. Jones put on a spectacular show in his first fight, using his wrestling, and showcasing his amazing striking skills using spinning back elbows and kicks. Jones would win by unanimous decision for the first time in his career.In December of 2009, Jones would get his next fight and it would be with TUF vet Matt “The Hammer” Hamill. Jones came out and outwrestled Hamill and controlled Hamill on the ground where he started to land some very destructive elbows from the top. Jones would end up being disqualified for throwing 12-6 elbows on Hamill’s already battered face. At first the referee had only deducted a point for the elbows, but due to Hamill not being able to continue, the fight was declared a disqualification for Jones making it the first loss in his career.
On May 19, 2012, we would see the first string of troubles in the young champions life when he crashed his Bentley into a pole in Binghamton, N.Y., Jones was placed under arrest for DUI and was later bailed by his mother. Jones plead guilty to the DUI charge and was fined $1,000.00.On Jan. 6, 2015, It was made public that Jones had failed a pre-fight drug test. The test came back positive for benzoylecgonine, which is the primary metabolite found in cocaine. This test was taken out of competition, there for Jones was not punished by the NSAC since cocaine is not a banned substance out of competition. Jones was however fined $25,000 by the UFC for violating the UFC’s athletic code of conduct. Jones entered rehab where he stayed for 24 hours and released himself, stating “I’m not a cocaine addict by any means or not even a frequent user. I just made a really dumb decision and got caught with my pants down in this whole situation”.
Jones future will now depend on what the judge says in court. He may or may not fight again in the UFC. Money and fame got to him as it does so many young athletes, he was virtually unstoppable. He beat himself. I hope he uses this time to reflect, get sober and come back strong and better than ever. The UFC will miss a fighter of his magnitude. I don’t think they will find another fighter like him. He was the complete package, I hope he does come back to fight.
http://themmacorner.com/2015/05/10/a-look-back-the-rise-and-fall-of-jon-bones-jones/
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