Jon Jones: duck or goat?
By Kenny Eliason via Unsplash
It is without a doubt that the long, controversial UFC career of Jon “Bones” Jones is one of atmospheric highs and cavernous lows.
Jones holds the record for being the youngest champion in UFC history, capturing the light-heavyweight belt at the age of 23. Jones was hyped as an exciting prospect at the time. A model fighter, the son of a preacher with an entertaining style.
After gaining the belt, Jones began to slowly pile up controversy after controversy, dirtying a career that otherwise would’ve made him indisputably the greatest of all time in the sport.
The first of Jones’ scandals came as a result of a drunken hit-and-run incident with a pregnant woman’s car in April 2015. Jones was swiftly stripped of his belt and did not return until a year later, when he was swiftly suspended again after he tested positive for steroids in a title fight with the champion and long-time rival of Jones, Daniel “DC” Cormier.
Jones has been allowed what feels like an unending number of second chances. Possibly the most outrageous of which is when, prior to a fight with Alexander Gustaffson in 2018, Jones tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug (PED) turinabol. The event- UFC 232 -was moved from T-Mobile Arena in Nevada to the Kia Forum in California, because the Nevada State Athletic Commission would not sanction the fight in the wake of Jones’ test results.
Fast-forwarding to today, Jones- now the heavyweight champion -has made headline after headline for his consistent avoidance of interim champion Tom Aspinall. Analysts and fans alike believe Aspinall to be the man to hand Jones his only real official loss. Jones has taken every opportunity to discredit Aspinall as a title challenger, opting to take a fight with the then 42-year-old former champion Stipe Miocic.
Jones has preferred favourable matchups and long layoffs in his recent career. Now that the fight with Aspinall is unavoidable due to there being objectively no other deserving challenger, Jones has demanded a ridiculous six months to prepare for their fight.
Jon Jones recent antics have had him labelled a “duck” because he has shown himself to be unreceptive to negotiations for a fight that won’t be heavily balanced in his favour. Most of Jones' opponents are either much older, much smaller, or are lacking in a facet of their skillset that allows Jones to have an edge over them.
The only times he has faced opponents of a similar size, age and skill set are his fights with Alexander Gustaffson and Dominic Reyes. Gustaffson- though dominated the second time they fought, put on an excellent performance in his first fight with Jones. Going back and forth with the champion from bell to bell, and losing a narrow decision.
This is not the only time the judges have been Jones’ friend. In his fight with Reyes, Jones clearly lost the first three rounds, winning the last two against an exhausted Reyes. The judges did not think this was the case, gift-wrapping a victory and handing it to Jones, who then took a three-year layoff after the fight.
Recently, footage of Jones has come out, seemingly on a FaceTime call with an old friend who jokes that he had “so much time left”, to which Jones replied: “I’m done.” Seemingly hinting at his retirement.
Recently, a fan-run MMA Instagram parody account, Tony_has_died, has published a change.org petition that, as of June 3rd 2025, has 180,881 signatures. This shows that even the fans are fed up with Jones’ antics.
Jones’ refusal to fight Aspinall- a fast, hard-hitting, well-rounded heavyweight phenom that looks like the future of the sport -could very well come from the fear that the judges won’t be able to help him win it.