The Beginning
Jonny “Bones” Jones, the GOAT to many and a fraud to others.
Once the youngest and most feared champion in UFC history, who obliterated anyone who dared stand across the cage from him, he is now a man whose legacy is considered tainted, and the mere mention of his name sparks outrage-fueled debates in comment sections across every platform.
“The Duality of Man” is the idea that every single human being has both good and evil within them, and perhaps no one embodies this more than Bones. To his die-hard fans, he’s the untouchable pound-for-pound king and one of the best to ever do it, but to his haters, he’s the “duck” who picks his matchups and whose path to greatness is littered with controversy.
Let’s look at The Duality of Bones.
Inside The Cage
On the one hand lies a plethora of otherworldly achievements and a long list of men who tried, and failed, to beat the “GOAT” of a truly violent sport that he made his playground. At 23, he became the youngest champion in UFC history, beating the legend of the sport Shogun Rua with a performance that went straight into the history books. Jones, at his wild, athletic best, made Shogun tap to strikes… absolutely insane. To be that young and do that against an MMA legend at the time was mind-blowing. To face a murderous row of legends and top contenders such as Lyoto Machida, Daniel Cormier, Vitor Belfort, Rampage Jackson… the list goes on and on and to beat them all in the fashion that Bones did, was something that had never, and possibly will never, be seen again.
To achieve this level of success, Bones demonstrates exceptional focus and preparation. He approaches fighting like a dedicated student of the game even now, well into his late 30s. His ability to outthink his opponents, adapt mid-fight, and execute highly technical and pre-planned moves has always been his blue-chip attribute. This obsessive attention to detail has been a mainstay of his training camps throughout his career and the proof is in the slick, intelligent moves he executes in the majority of his fights.
The Good
Despite popular opinion, Bones has shown glimpses of good character outside of the octagon as well. He often speaks about the importance of family, including his close relationship with his brothers. In addition to donating several of his fight bonuses to various charities, he also runs his own charity, the C.A.R.E. Project, in Albuquerque, which focuses on giving back to the community. Jones described it as “where we just give back and show God’s love” showing both his use of his platform for positive change and his faith in religion.
He also famously once stopped an alleged thief who had smashed a couple’s car window and stolen their GPS. Jones chased the man down, retrieved the stolen items, and held him until the police arrived, all just hours before violently dethroning Shogun Rua to become the UFC light heavyweight champion of the world. There is a famous video of Dana telling the story to Joe Rogan backstage, to which Rogan replied, “Jon Jones is a goddamn superhero!” Jones himself later tweeted about the situation, #crackheadshavenocardio.
Mainstream Attention
It was these moments combined with his octagon ability that catapulted him into the mainstream. Being the first MMA star to really crossover and by 2012, Jones was the first fighter in the sport to land a global sponsorship deal with Nike and even had a shoe deal with them releasing the The Nike Free Trainer 5.0 (Jon “Bones” Jones edition) which sold out in under 2 minutes. Other brands soon followed in an attempt to align their brand with his image including Gatorade.
These were pivotal moments that went beyond sports AND put MMA into a spotlight that it had been hidden away from for a long time. Rolling Stone magazine even published headlines “Jones Might Be the Michael Jordan of Anything-Goes Combat” and while many legends in other sports had walked this road before, Bones was walking it for the MMA world for the very first time
The Cracks Begin to Show
When Jon isn’t training for a fight and without a structured lifestyle, he’s a completely different person. He’s reckless & impulsive, acting without thinking about the long-term consequences. They aren’t the mistakes of someone carefully weighing up options. They’re emotional decisions, driven by a feeling or temptation in the heat of the moment. The cracks first started to show in 2011 following a DUI where he crashed his Bentley into a utility pole, injuring his passengers. By 2015, Jones’s darkest moment came when he fled the scene of a hit-and-run accident that injured a pregnant woman, leading to his suspension and being stripped of his belt. His legal troubles only got worse with multiple doping violations including testing positive for cocaine and leading to his “I beat you after a weekend of cocaine” quote.
Off the Rails
Stories of questionable actions came up repeatedly, including a bizarre incident where Jones allegedly hid under a cage in a gym for hours to avoid USADA doping officials; this isn’t a hard story to believe if you understand Jon’s history of alleged substance abuse. In 2019, Jones also faced accusations of misconduct at a strip club, and his behavior reached new lows in 2020 when he was arrested for DWI and negligent use of a firearm. By 2021, he faced domestic violence allegations, which resulted in his temporary ban from his longtime training gym Jacksonville MMA. All of these legal issues have kept Bones out of the cage for a massive portion of his career.
Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier
The Bones vs. DC rivalry is probably the most iconic rivalry in MMA history that deserves a whole post in itself, but for now, it’s a rivalry that perfectly reflects the “Duality of Man” with Jones and DC representing two sides of good vs evil: discipline vs. chaos, hero vs. villain. DC, the ultimate professional, family man, and Olympic wrestler, took on the role of the good guy in this story. Throughout his career, he did everything the right way, never cheated, never lied. He was the hardworking, blue-collar company man.
And Jones… well, we know. It all went off during the build-up media day, DC pushed Jones, who responded with a wild punch and takedown which sent the entire stage tumbling backwards. There was also the ESPN interview where in between the live stream, Jon and DC were left staring at each other waiting to return from TV breaks when Jon suddenly looked up with a menacing grin and said “Hey p**, are you still there?”** DC accused Jones of being fake, a “chameleon” who shifted personas for the cameras and asked to be let into the next room so he could spit in Jon’s face (very out of character), while Bones threatened to “literally kill” DC if he ever did that.
Whilst Jon dominated his rival in the cage twice, the latest was overturned to a NC due to doping violation from Jones, leaving DC the re-instated champ and moral victor.
The Tom Aspinall Saga
If you haven’t heard, Tom Aspinall is the new kid on the block and the “interim” UFC Heavyweight Champion. Stepping in on just a week’s notice, he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in the first round, positioning himself as THE man next in line for Bones. But instead of calling out Aspinall after his victory over a 41-year-old Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, Jon Jones thanked Jesus Christ and turned his attention to Alex Pereira, the current light heavyweight champion. Aspinall has already defended his interim title once, something no interim heavyweight champion had ever accomplished before (or needed to), which surely proved his worth as the ONLY contender. Tom himself is respectful about the situation, but for many fans, this was the last straw. The perception that the UFC bends the rules around Jones because he is “the GOAT” has always been a sore spot, but this time, the outrage is deafening, through a sea of duck emojis in every Bones comment section.
Fans and media are now asking if Jones’s reluctance to fight Aspinall is tainting his legacy. Why would the self-proclaimed greatest of all time avoid the most dangerous fighter in his division? Meanwhile, fans are calling out Jones’s apparent ability to bypass Aspinall while getting a pass for behaviors outside of the octagon that would bury any other fighter’s career.
Conclusion
An interviewer once asked Jon if he was a “good guy trying to be bad” or a “bad guy trying to be good.” Jones replied, “I think I’m a bad guy trying to be good. We’re all born sinners.” The truth is, Jon is both, disciplined and reckless, a flawed genius, a hero and a villain rolled into one complex human being. He isn’t perfect by any stretch, far from it but neither are any of us. He is a man who fights demons in and outside of the cage. I believe in separating the art from the artist. Two things can be true at the same time, Jon has done things that are indefensible, and those actions should be acknowledged. But I can also appreciate the brilliance, discipline, and pure greatness he’s brought to the sport. His bad traits don’t rub out his good ones, and his good traits don’t excuse the bad. That’s the “Duality of Bones” and the duality of being human.
