'Deep down I was terrified'… Jon Jones recalls a terrifying encounter while he was in jail before becoming the UFC GOAT
12/23/2024 09:24 AM
Before joining the UFC and becoming the greatest fighter of all time, Jon Jones had a terrifying experience when he was just 17 years old.
It’s fair to say that Jon Jones‘ combat sports career has been covered in controversy both inside and outside of the cage.
When ‘Bones’ made his promotional debut in 2008 at just 21 years old, the MMA world knew they had something extremely special and unique on their hands.
Jon Jones recalls a terrifying jail encounter when he was 17 years old
Jones’ UFC career has unfortunately been stained with legal troubles throughout and that has been very well documented.
Even to the point that UFC CEO, Dana White, has openly admitted that he hasn’t had the best relationship with the current UFC heavyweight champion, despite his constant support of him being the pound-for-pound number one.
Despite being involved in legal troubles throughout his 16-year UFC tenure, Jones has recalled a terrifying moment when he was in jail at 17 years old.
“The longest time I did (in jail) was 3 months, when I was a young kid, I got in a fight with a guy outside his house and they considered it burglary,” Jones began to explain in an interview on Alex G Was Here.
“I think I was 17 and think I went to jail for it, I was like 18… No, I didn’t (fight anyone in jail). But, man, I had a cat tell me, he was like ‘You’re not like me, you’re not like me’, he was like, ‘You grew up on the wrestling team if you got me down on the floor you’d probably think the s*** was over and that you’d won.
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“He was like, ‘If I knock you out I’m gonna drag your leg over to a wall and I’m gonna put your leg up against the wall and I’m gonna stomp your kneecaps out’. And I will never forget when he stomped the floor, I was like 17 or 18… I’ll never forget when he stomped the floor.
“I was shook, I was shook. I was sitting there with a straight face like I wasn’t scared but deep down inside I was terrified, I was terrified.
“It’s funny now though because fast forward, now it’s very hard to intimidate or scare me,” Jones continued.
Tom Aspinall will be hoping he can intimidate Jon Jones
Following his recent title defense over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jones is now deciding whether he wants to unify the heavyweight title against interim champion, Tom Aspinall.
Although ‘Bones’ initially wasn’t interested in a fight against the rapid Aspinall, he has seemingly come to terms with that fight being his next one.
Recently at the UFC Tampa post-fight press conference, the UFC boss, White, admitted that he is ‘100% confident’ that Jones will stick around to fight Aspinall before putting down his UFC gloves.
