What's At Stake For Jon Jones At UFC 214?

A couple of years ago Jon Jones offered a $1500 reward for the safe return of his missing African Serval Savannah cat. The rare feline was found and taken back to the former UFC champion with all nine lives intact, but, unlike his beloved wildcat, the 30-year-old fighter himself is running out of second chances.

At UFC 128 in March 2011, at the age of 23, Jones destroyed Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to claim the light heavyweight title, becoming the youngest ever UFC champion in the process. He is undefeated since, and the only blemish on his record before that time was a disqualification loss for straying outside the rules in his brutal pummelling of Matt Hamill at the Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Finale in 2009.

The Jackson-Winklejohn fighter had the MMA world at his feet – or on the end of his elbows – after trouncing Run via a one-sided third-round TKO, well on his way to adding his name to the discussion whenever fans asked the question: “Who would be on the Mount Rushmore of mixed martial arts?”

However, a string of personal issues, though rarely derailing his performances inside the Octagon, have caused Jones’ career to stall somewhat. There can be no doubt that he is among the most naturally gifted fighters the sport has ever seen, and is practically unbeatable at 205lbs on his day. But his off-field problems have too often prevented him from making the walk to the eight-sided cage.

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With a quick glance at Jones Wikipedia page, it becomes startlingly apparent that all is not – or, at least, has not been – well at Casa Jones over the last five years. The “controversies” column runs longer than most fighters’ career history.

A hit and run conviction, testing positive for cocaine and, most recently, serving a one-year suspension for use of a banned substance, has all contributed to the New York state native competing just twice in the last three years – the period which should be his fighting prime.

Despite all of his troubles, Jones seldom disappoints when the cage door is locked behind him. His last outing, a decision victory over Ovince Saint Preux for the interim title – of which he has since been stripped for the aforementioned doping infringement – was perhaps his most underwhelming performance to date, but he still cruised to victory against a very dangerous opponent.

On Saturday (29 July) at UFC 214, Jones will have the chance to regain the light heavyweight title that was taken from him, not by any in-ring adversary, but rather by his employer as a result of his cocaine use.

His opponent is Daniel Cormier. Jones comfortably overcame the former Olympic wrestler when they first met in January 2015 – supposedly just days after abusing the illegal drug. The two enjoy a heated and fractious relationship, and a money-spinning rematch was anticipated, and scheduled, long ago.

Jones has nothing to prove inside the Octagon; if he retired tomorrow he’d be remembered as one of the best to ever pull on a pair of 4oz gloves. But it’s time for him now to show that, after several missteps and false starts, after asking forgiveness and reoffending time and again, he is finally ready to take his profession and his talent seriously.

Fighting seems to come easy to Jones, a fact that is endlessly frustrating to those who face him. The way he takes apart world class fighters, with a creative flair and an antagonistic smirk, is as impressive as it is entertaining.

But the Jones era that began over seven years ago needs to be fully realised.

When he steps into the Octagon on Saturday, a little over a week after his 30th birthday, victory is the bare minimum for Jones. It’s what he does thereafter which will dictate how he is remembered in posterity.