Why Jon Jones reclaiming the UFC Light Heavyweight Title shows You’re Your own Worst Enemy

Dan Gonzales
Aug 8, 2017 · 4 min read

The MMA World was sent rumbling last weekend when Jon Jones KO’d Daniel Cormier after a precise head kick in the third round of UFC 214. A rematch almost two years in the making finally took place. Jones who just turned thirty a week before the fight had went through an on and off again hiatus from the UFC relinquishing his title. It was a joy to see my favorite fighter back in the ring in over a year.

I remember back in high school Jones was an idol of mine. Watching his fights against Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson made me a fan. The way he fought was so attention grabbing that you didn’t know what he was going to do, whether that be a spinning back elbow, impeccable wrestling take-downs, or using his shoulder in the clinch to hit his opponent, Jones had a captivating unorthodox fight style.

Jon Jones went on to defend the Light Heavyweight belt a record eight times in the division; only falling short of Anderson Silva’s ten title defenses in the middleweight division. Thus making Jones the face of the UFC and arguably the best pound for pound fighter the sport has ever seen.

Boom! Reality hits and Jones is arrested for driving under the influence hitting a car with a pregnant lady inside. It was reported that Jon had marijuana inside his vehicle and his career reached a screeching halt from that point. He went on to face a court battle and was striped of his championship and was suspended indefinitely from the UFC. I was shocked to find this out and I was even more shocked to find out Jones had tested for a banned substance just one day prior to his rematch with Daniel Cormier at last year’s UFC 200.

The allegory is that even the most invincible people can come crashing down. Jones has never lost in MMA other than his one disqualification but other than that, no opponent has beat him. Jones had to build his career again from the ground up. A song verse that comes to mind when thinking of Jones’ situation is from Jay Z’s “Holy Grail.” It goes, “Bright lights is enticin’ but look what it did to Tyson.” A reference to Mike Tyson’s fall from glory, going bankrupt.

Jones’ story is not over. Hopefully it will continue with him trying to prove all his doubters wrong and facing the best the light heavyweight division has to offer. Another big reason why I became a fan of Jones was because he was inspirational. Early in Jones’ fighting career Jones said, “To be the champion you gotta think about those last thirty seconds before accomplishing your goal, how hard you’ve gotta work to achieve it.” Another one of my favorite JJ quotes is: “If you chase your dreams so much sometimes it’s like they start chasin you.”

Jones career and life path resonates with me, even though I’m not a mixed martial artist or athelete in the professional sense. Having setbacks and things happen unexpectedly aligns with my story, it’s like a Rocky movie where the fight scene always shows Rocky having to fight himself back after being down or the quote that everybody knows, “It’s not how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”

While many consider Jones the “bad guy” having accrued legal issues and not being able to step into the ring when expected, he has posted a fight career that is only tarnished by his own mistakes/short comings in his personal life. D.C. was right when he said, “I’ve been sober, I am the champion,” in response to Jones during a press conference prior to the fight. In addition, Jones’ antics after his first fight with D.C. might’ve given more reason to hate him since he pretended the fight was over to get D.C. to drop his guard so he could sneak in two punches before the fight was over.

Jon is an example that you have to fight your demons and that you can suppress and control your inner demons. We’re judged by why we fail, but even more scrutinized by how we respond to adversity. His latest victory in the ring shows failure isn’t final and the best victories are the one’s where you comeback after being down. “As long as you never quit, it’s never over.”

Joe Rogan congratulates Jon after the fight.

-DG

Dan Gonzales

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