Jon Jones’ Manager: Still ‘Not A Sure Thing’ He Ever Fights Again
A huge door for dominant former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was opened yesterday (Tue., September 29, 2015) when a judge sentenced him to an 18-month conditional discharge that, if he meets all provisions of, will allow him to avoid jail time and a felony conviction on April hit-and-run charges he allegedly ran a stoplight in Albuquerque to hit a 25-year-old pregnant woman and break her arm in the process.
He has to make a large amount of charitable appearances in that timeframe, but it was largely believed that with his legal troubles no longer looming overhead, Jones would be headed for a UFC return a whole lot sooner than later.
However, Ariel Helwani voiced what he has heard on UFC Tonight and set the record straight on the circumstances of Jones’ return, which has no timeline and if reportedly far from guaranteed:
“They said there’s no timeline right now. Remember, a couple months ago his manager Malki Kawa said that Jon Jones may never fight again, and as of right now, that’s still in play. It’s not a sure thing that he’ll ever fight again. He’s still suspended indefinitely by the UFC, and they will look into the matter, but he has not made up his mind, he’s not coming back a specific month, not doing a training camp right now, anything like that. They said there’s no timeline, this was reiterated many time by multiple people for Jon Jones’ return to the UFC, so stay tuned on that one.”
Obviously the whole MMA community will stay tuned for any update on the return of the infamous Jones, yet in reality, it would more than a massive surprise if he were never to return to fighting. It would even be a surprise if Jones were not booked against the winner of this Saturday’s (October 3, 2015) UFC 192 title bout between Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson.
He’s one of the best to ever compete in the UFC, and it could easily be argued that with a few more wins, he could potentially overtake Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, and Fedor Emelianenko as the greatest MMA fighter of all-time.
But unfortunately Jones has always been his own worst enemy. Did this week feature a crossroads where Jones will rise up to fulfill his legendary potential, or will he squander what may be the last chance he has left?
