With eleven wins in MMA and just one loss by disqualification (illegal elbows), Jon Jones is the new boogeyman on the UFC light heavyweight scene. At just twenty-three years of age, the fighter looks set for a future filled with glorious victories, a seemingly common fate in his family. Jones is the brother of Arthur Jones, a college football star in the USA currently playing in the NFL.
Jones has an arsenal of awesome takedowns. Photo: Josh Hedges
Jon Jones is the cover fighter in this month’s issue of CHOKE magazine, now a supplement in GRACIEMAG and on news stands and in bookstores around the world. Check out a snippet from the conversation the rising star had with CHOKE editor Rafael Werneck and our correspondent Nalty Jr.
You were studying for a degree in Criminal Justice. Why did you drop that for a career in MMA?
I was on the wrestling team in college and there was a Jiu-Jitsu academy there. I had a daughter, and that changed my life. I contemplated how I could use my physical attributes to make money, so I dropped my studies and started training for real.
You’ve fought seven times in just four months before…
I come from a wrestling background, where we compete the whole time. I was all about winning, that’s what I was born to do. In the UFC we only get to fight three times a years, but I’d fight every month if I could.
You said you were working on improving in Jiu-Jitsu. Is the combination of Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling a hard formula to beat?
Yes, they’re the two most effective self-defense styles and the best way to teach people how to defend themselves. Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling are the most important styles.
Want to learn more about this rampant winner? Then go get a copy of GRACIEMAG 164 or subscribe here.