Jon Jones life is in turmoil at the moment after receiving a felony charge for a hit and run incident in Alberquerque which carries a potential three year jail sentence, while also being stripped of his light-heavyweight title, suspended from the UFC and having to deal with multiple sponsors leaving him.
On the latest edition of The MMA Hour show with Ariel Helwani yesterday we were given an insight into just how up in the air things are for ‘Bones’ when his manager Malki Kawa admitted that he’s not sure if the up until recently No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport will ever compete again.
“It could very well be the last time we’ve seen Jon Jones in the Octagon,” Kawa said. “I think Jon Jones is gonna focus on Jon Jones. I think he’s gonna take the time to do whatever he’s gotta do. And if it’s the last time we’ve seen him fight, it’s the last time we’ve seen him fight. And I’m OK with that.”
While Kawa didn’t specifically say why he thought that, he did seem to be implying that perhaps the pressure that comes with competing at the very highest level may have taken it’s toll.
“What I can just tell you and you guys can read between the lines is that I think every athlete comes to a point and it’s not just Jon Jones,” Kawa said. “I’ve had other guys when they look in the mirror one day, they realize that a lot of it maybe is just sometimes too much. It’s just too much. If you don’t fight a guy on seven days notice, you’re trash. If you stop a mugger, you’re a great guy, thanks so much. Now you’re the new world champion, you have to do all these interviews. There’s so much that goes into it. It’s not just him, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. You see it with GSP, you see it with Anderson.”
It’s hard to say how much truth there is to the idea that Jones could be set to hang up his gloves. Perhaps it’s all still too fresh at the moment for anyone, including the fighter himself, to see what the future is going to hold.
The thought of a potential prison sentence will certainly be looming large over him at this stage, and even beyond that it seems that Jones does have issues that have to be addressed. For instance, prior to his last fight he tested positive for cocaine, while marijuana and a marijuana pipe were found in his car after the hit-and-run incident (though so far he’s not been charged for that).
Factor in the brawl he initiated with Daniel Cormier at a press event last year and a 2012 drunk driving charge and you start to get a real sense that Jones is definitely battling some demons behind the scenes.
Nevertheless, Jones is still just 27 years old, so at this stage it still seems unlikely that we’ve seen the last of arguably the best fighter of his generation, if not of all-time, compete in the Octagon.
