Jon Jones’ Coach Says That Jones Is Back In The Gym, But He May Never Fight In The UFC Again
It’s been a little over a month since former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones was involved in a hit-and-run accident which led to the UFC stripping him of the Light Heavyweight Championship. As of right now, it’s still not clear if Jones will end up doing time, but it’s also unclear if he’ll ever return to the UFC.
Even though Jon Jones’ future in the UFC is in doubt, he’s still showing up to Greg Jackson’s Gym in Albuquerque, New Mexico to help his training partners prepare for their upcoming fights.
Mike Winkeljohn — who is one of Jones’ coaches at Jackson’s — appeared onSubmission Radio to talk about Jones’ role in the gym, and whether or not he thinks that Jones will ever return to the UFC. Winkeljohn didn’t commit one way or the other, but he didn’t rule out the possibility of Jones never fighting again.
“Jon is gonna make the best of it. He’s doing all the right things. He was in the gym helping Andrei Arlovski for his fight, he’s in the gym helping others right now. So he’s gone back to help others, stop doing those things that get you in trouble and go forward. And so I’m looking forward to Jon turning his life around and becoming a better person.”
“If he fights again or not, I’m not sure, but that’s not important. What’s real important right now is Jon getting help for himself and his family. Everybody seems to forget other things, but at the end of the day it’s about Jon Jones becoming the best person he can. The fighting is secondary. And we lose sight of it. A lot of people lose sight of that and stuff. So there’s a possibility that he might not fight, there’s a possibility he might fight. I know right now he’s staying busy helping others in the gym and that’s very important.”
In Jones’ absence, the Light Heavyweight division is moving on without him. Daniel Cormier — who Jones defeated this past January — is the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and he’s set to defend that title against Alexander Gustafsson — who Jones defeated in September of 2013.
There is some hope that Jones will come back and face the winner of the Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson fight, but, if Jones ends up doing jail time, that obviously won’t happen. As for whether he will or won’t, well, Jones will be back in court at the end of the month, so we’ll know a lot more about his future then.
[Image via Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images]
