Is Jones another victim of 'success' like McGregor? Relapse, pot arrests, 14-day retirement U-turn, and overzealous patriotism expose the cracks in the greatest of all time
Jones
is already pacing through the gym. Shadowboxing under flickering fluorescent lights, whispering affirmations to himself. 'Be the guy that embraces the ugly,' he repeats, a mantra that feels like both confession and commandment.
It's been a recurring theme in Jon Jones's career: the collision of brilliance and chaos, greatness and scandal. There may be no figure in
UFC
history more complex than Jones, who, even in retirement limbo, continues to dominate headlines. And now, in the summer of 2025, with his name once again back in the
USADA
testing pool and rumors of a fight on the
White House
lawn for America250 next in July, 2026, the sport's ultimate anti-hero refuses to fade.
— JonnyBones (@JonnyBones)
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The most gifted, and the most damaged
Jones's body, as Joe Rogan once put it, seems engineered for violence. 'He's the guy at the back of the battlefield with a giant axe, slashing heads,' Rogan said on his podcast. 'Long arms, crazy reach, sensitive soul. That's the perfect killer.'
With a reach of 84.5 inches and freakishly thin calves, often mocked, but a trait shared by elite sprinters, Jones doesn't look like a traditional bruiser. He glides more than he stomps, strikes with the mechanical timing of a metronome. And while his résumé boasts 28 wins, one loss, and one no-contest, it's the air of invincibility, the eerie calm before he strikes, that has long terrified opponents.
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He holds the UFC record for most title defenses in light heavyweight history, totaling 14 if you include interim and undisputed belts. From defeating Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua at age 23 to stopping Ciryl Gane in the first round at UFC 285 in 2023 for the vacant heavyweight belt, Jones has stacked victories over two generations of fighters.
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But for every peak, there has been a plunge.
A record with caveats
In 2017, Jones tested positive for Turinabol after knocking out Daniel Cormier, a win later overturned to a no-contest. It was his second anti-doping violation, following a failed test in 2016. Though USADA ruled neither instance as intentional cheating, the stains lingered.
Fans often invoke his controversial decisions over Dominick
Reyes
in 2020 and Alexander Gustafsson in 2013 as moments when the aura cracked. Even UFC President Dana White admitted Reyes might've deserved that win. Jones walked away from light heavyweight not long after, vacating the title in 2020, choosing instead to bulk up for a heavyweight debut that would come nearly three years later.
And when it finally happened, a quick submission over Ciryl Gane, it didn't silence the critics. Why didn't he fight Francis Ngannou before the Cameroonian left the UFC? Why didn't he unify the belt with interim champ Tom Aspinall? Why did he announce retirement in June, 2025, only to re-enter the drug-testing pool just weeks later?
'I think I'm a bad guy trying to be good'
Jon Jones' final message after his retirement was announced on June 21, by UFC President Dana White at UFC at ABC: Hill vs Rountree in Baku, Azerbaijan, through his X and reshared on June 22, by MMA veteran journalist, Ariel Helwani on his Facebook page
Once, in a pre-fight interview, a reporter asked Jones if he was a good guy pretending to be bad or a bad guy pretending to be good. With a smirk, Jones paused, then said, 'That's a good question. I think I'm a bad guy trying to be good.'
Before UFC 309, just months ago, he expanded on that. 'In Christianity, we believe we're born into sin,' he told reporters. 'I'm flawed. But I fight to be better.'
That inner war, between salvation and self-sabotage, defines Jon Jones.
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The same man who's been arrested multiple times for DWI, domestic disputes, and weapons charges also once checked on Daniel Cormier after his mother passed. The same fighter who called himself 'God's champion' has also been accused of brutalizing those closest to him. In 2021, he allegedly assaulted his fiancée, leading to a public outcry and calls for the UFC to drop him. Police bodycam footage from Las Vegas showed Jones weeping in custody, pounding his chest, and repeating, 'I'm better than this.'
Faith, family, and failure
Jones's father was a pastor. His brothers, Chandler and Arthur, played in the NFL. Athletic dominance ran in the family, but so did expectations.
Growing up in Endicott, New York, Jones often felt like he didn't belong. He moved to New Mexico to escape himself as much as anything, finding refuge in the cage. His gym became his church.
'I believe in the power of manifestation,' he often says. 'I see myself as world champion before I step in there.'
But belief alone hasn't been enough to keep him steady. In between training camps and victories, he's admitted to battling addiction, depression, and impulses he doesn't always understand.
He owns a Belgian Malinois, a breed used by elite military units, and trains it obsessively. The dog, often seen alongside him on hikes and shooting range sessions, is a symbol of control. He also owns multiple firearms and has shown them off on social media, drawing criticism but also reinforcing the mythos of the warrior preparing for war.
What makes a legend?
Jon Jones's legacy is complicated. Analysts like Luke Thomas call him 'the greatest skill-for-skill fighter we've ever seen,' while Ariel Helwani adds, 'But he might also be the most disappointing.' Brett Okamoto of ESPN summed it up best: 'If he were squeaky clean, there'd be no GOAT debate.'
Indeed, what do we do with an athlete who broke every rule but never lost the game?
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The UFC itself has leaned into the duality. Dana White famously said on the Full Send podcast: 'If two men walk into a room, one of them Jon Jones, the other anyone else, Jones walks out.' It was meant as praise, but fans online turned it into a meme, both for its absurdity and uncomfortable truth.
2026: a comeback or a curtain call?
After President Dana White's vague post-fight press conference announcing the retirement of the most accomplished MMA fighter alive, ever (even according to him), at UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr. in Baku
This elevated Tom Aspinall to be the current undisputed heavyweight champion. Jones posted a congratulatory message, but stayed quiet.
Then came July 4.
'I'm back in the pool,' he tweeted, referencing USADA's mandatory six-month testing window. His reason? President Donald Trump had announced plans for a UFC event on the South Lawn of the White House for America's 250th anniversary in July, 2026.
Jones wrote on X, 'The moment I heard Trump's announcement, I started training again. For me, it's about the opportunity to represent America at the White House. I don't care who I fight that night.'
It was pure Jon, part patriot, part provocateur.
The fighter we can't quit
Whether he returns or not, Jon Jones occupies a strange space in American sports culture. He's the villain we can't stop watching, the prodigy who couldn't outrun his demons, the champ who never really lost, but always seemed to be losing something.
At 37, his time at the top may be over. Or not. With whispers of a final bout against Aspinall, or even middleweight champion Alex Pereira, a fighter his own size, the door remains open.
And maybe that's fitting.
Because Jon Jones has never been about clean endings. He's about conflict, about the gray area. The walking contradiction who made fans question not just what a GOAT looks like, but what it should look like.
AP
Jones with President Trump after defeating Stipe Miocic by TKO, by way of, spinning back-kick to the liver at UFC 309 (November 17, 2024)
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In the end, we might not remember Jon Jones for the knockouts or title defenses. We might remember him for the questions he forced us to ask, about forgiveness, about greatness, and about whether a bad guy trying to be good is more honest than the ones who never admit they're bad at all.
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