1: Wait and see with the UFC.
ESPN is owned by Disney and they are in a partnership with the UFC, and neither of those two are going to keep an employee that behaves this way in today’s world. From cocaine use to the newest incident of alleged domestic violence, plus legal troubles, Jones hasn’t been that big of a PPV draw. He hasn’t been very active, since his last fight was a unanimous decision win over Brandon Reyes in February of 2020, a fight which some fans felt Reyes won. Jones seems to be holding out on his move to heavyweight until he feels the compensation matches his time and effort. After this latest unfortunate incident, Jones has been asked not to return to his home training facility, Jackson Wink MMA. This is unfortunate since it’s one of the top MMA gyms in the world.
While the UFC is probably going to wait to see what the legal ramifications are before making any permanent decisions, would it benefit them to keep him around?
2: Bellator is always hiring.
Would it be worth anyone’s time for Bellator to sign him? Jones would effectively be the big fish in their second-tier pound. If Jones were to go to Bellator and run through everyone on their roster at heavy weight or light heavy weight, will that do anything for his legacy? There could be solid fights awaiting Jones in the Bellator ring, Jones vs Jake Hager could be engaging, a rematch with Ryan Bader would raise some interest, but after that there isn’t much on the horizon in terms of intriguing fights. Also remember, this is the fight game, anything can happen once the bell rings. What would losing to a top ten guy in Bellator do to Jones legacy? Another question to ask would be, how much of Jones’ outside the cage antics would Bellator’s Scott Coker be willing to put up with?
3: The boxing ring could potentially have a spot for a guy like Jon Jones.
Throughout boxing’s history there has always been the perception of, if the bad boys can kick ass, who cares what they’re do outside the ring? With the likes of Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather and many others having legal troubles, including jail time under their belt, on fight night, the boxing world has always seemed to forgive and forget. Jones could find success in the boxing ring. He can play the social media trash taking part very well, has an impressive eighty-four-and-a-half-inch reach, the amount of muscle he has put on leading up to his heavyweight debut could potentially transfer into some mac truck type forceful power and he’s been in BIG fights, so we know he can handle the bright lights come game time. Maybe a couple of fights as a co-main event. If he looks good enough, could he fight for a title? Probably. Would the people watch? Again, probably. Most likely to see if he’s got it or to see if he gets his ass handed to him. The one big question would be, if Jon Jones were in the boxing ring as it stands today could he beat the likes of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, or Deontay Wilder?
The wait and see game with Jones is nothing new to MMA fans. Is he going to take this fight seriously? After a win is he going to test positive for a banned substance? Is he going to serve jail time for whatever the issue is now? As it stands today Jon Jones next two fights will be with the Las Vegas legal system and within himself. Sure, he will do his posts on social media about how this is a misunderstanding. He will play a victim that succumb to his vices and will swear off drugs and say how he will turn to the lord for guidance. This is nothing but more of the same from Jon “Bones” Jones. Everybody loves a good comeback story, when the odds are stacked against the protagonist. Everybody loves the fight back to the top, but at what point does it become a lost cause? For a guy like Jon Jones that line may have already been past. There are already many references to what he could have been had he done this or not done that. From the guy being tapped as the next Anderson Silva, the legend that lived in the matrix whose puzzle couldn’t be solved, to the guy whose headlines make us think what now? There is nobody to blame, but Jon Jones.
While awaiting these court proceedings and possibly needing to look for a new gym to take him in, Jones may need to light a candle in the dark, drop the needle on a WHO record and ask himself, what is he really fighting for this time?
