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On March 19th, 2011, Jon Jones defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by TKO in the 3rd round at UFC 128 to become the youngest Light Heavyweight Champion in UFC history. Jones then went on to defend that title a record breaking eight times against eight of the best fighters in the division that the sport has seen. His feud with Daniel Cormier was so big that a loss would have been somewhat detrimental to his career. Jones dominated Cormier for five rounds on his way to a unanimous decision win, solidifying that for the eighth time in a row this kid not only talked the talk, but also walked the walk.
He then went from the youngest UFC Light Heavyweight champion, who stops muggers before PPV fights, to a young champion trying to find his way in this world. Prior to his fight with Cormier at UFC 182, Jones failed a pre-fight drug test for cocaine metabolites. He then spent a grand total of two days in a rehab facility, which he was vastly criticized for. The two-day rehab stint hurt his image more than just saying he made a mistake, and that it would never happen again. His punishment for the offense was minimal as he was allowed to remain on the card, and fight Cormier for the title. The UFC could have stripped him of the title then and not have allowed him to fight, which some fighters expressed that is exactly what the UFC should have done. He essentially avoided all but fines with his positive cocaine test. Finally, the UFC’s poster child could move on with his Superman like title defense run.
So we all thought.
On January 24th, 2015, Anthony Johnson, a man they call “Rumble”, walked into Stockholm and knocked out the only man to ever truly challenge Jon Jones for the title in Alexander Gustafsson. So it was set, Jones vs. Johnson for the UFC Light Heavyweight title. Probably one of the most anticipated fights of the summer, and one where you don’t want either man to lose. That fight though, would never come to be, as Jones was again arrested on felony hit and run charges. Jones allegedly ran a red light, striking a car with a pregnant woman inside, who needed to be taken to the hospital. Upon inspection of the car, Albuquerque Police found marijuana paraphernalia, and rental car paperwork with Jones’ information. Jones was in turn immediately stripped of his title, directly leading to Reebok terminating their sponsorship with the star athlete.
Anthony Johnson will face Daniel Cormier for the vacated UFC Light Heavyweight title at UFC 187. The world has not heard from Jon Jones as he deals with his legal issues, but his manager Malki Kawa has recently said that we may have seen the last of Jones inside the Octagon. He has also made it clear that whatever decision Jones decides to make after his legal issues are squared away, are decisions Jones will make himself. The decision not to return to MMA would not be because of the negativity currently surrounding Jones, something that Kawa made very clear with his interview with mmafighting.com.
I am not sure that the MMA world is ready to move on from the Jon Jones era, but for now we have to. It is clear Jones will not be returning to the Octagon anytime soon, so we all might as well find a new favorite Light Heavyweight to root for. I myself believe that Johnson or Cormier would both make reputable UFC Champions. Jones is suddenly a whisper within the MMA community, only to be brought up when legal news is reported, and peers give personal updates on their own views of the former champion. For now, Jon Jones is being forgotten, and maybe that is exactly what Jon Jones needs.
