Jon Jones biography: 13 things about UFC Heavyweight Champion

full name: Jonathan Dwight Jones
fight name: Bones
residence: Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
height: 6’4″
weight divisions: heavyweight, light heavyweight
current promotion: UFC
pro MMA record: 27-1-1 NC

Jonathan Dwight “Jon” Jones is a professional mixed martial artist fighting out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. He was born in Rochester, New York, USA to Arthur Willis Jones Jr. and Camille Marie Jones.

Jon is 1 year younger than his brother Arthur Willis Jones III and 2 years older than their brother Chandler James Jones. They have a sister named Carmen Jones, who died of a brain tumor at age 18 in 2002.

When Jon attended Union-Endicott High School in Endicott, New York, he was a wrestler and a defensive lineman in football. He then attended Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa, USA before transferring to Morrisville State College in Morrisville, New York to study criminal justice but he dropped out of college to start his MMA career.

Jessie Moses and Jon have three daughters, who were born in 2008, 2009 and 2013. He has another daughter with another woman.

In 2008, Jon made his professional MMA debut and defeated Brad Bernard, Carlos Eduardo, Anthony Pina, Ryan Verrett, Parker Porter, Moyses Gabin and André Gusmão. In 2009, Jon defeated Stephan Bonnar and Jake O’Brien before losing to Matt Hamill.

In 2010, Jon joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which is based in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, and defeated Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko. Here are 13 more things about Jon:

1. On February 5, 2011, he submitted Ryan Bader via guillotine choke at “UFC 126” in Las Vegas. On March 19, 2011, he became the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion by beating then champion Mauricio Rua via punches and knees, making him the youngest UFC champion in history. He successfully defended the title from Quinton Jackson at “UFC135” in Denver, Colorado, USA on September 24, 2011 and Lyoto Machida at “UFC 140” in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on December 10, 2011.
2. On April 21, 2012, he successfully defended his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt from Rashad Evans at “UFC 145” in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. On May 19, 2012, his mother bailed him out after he was arrested for driving under the influence in Binghamon, New York. On September 22, 2012, he successfully defended his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt from Vitor Belfort at “UFC 152” in Toronto.
3. He successfully defended his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt from Chael Sonnen at “UFC 159” in Newark, New Jersey, USA on April 27, 2013 and Alexander Gustaffson at “UFC 165” in Toronto on September 21, 2013.
4. On April 26, 2014, he successfully defended his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt from Glovier Teixeira at “UFC 172” in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
5. On January 3, 2015, he successfully defended his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt from Daniel Cormier at “UFC 182” in Las Vegas. On April 27, 2015, he was arrested after crashing his rental car in a collision involving two other cars in Albuquerque and leaving an injured pregnant woman behind in other car. On April 28, 2015, he was stripped of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship title, which Cormier won on May 23, 2015. On September 29, 2015, he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and was subsequently sentenced to up to 18 months of supervised probation.
6. On April 23, 2016, he won the interim UFC Light Heavyweight Championship title by defeating Ovince Saint Preux via unanimous decision at “UFC 197” in Las Vegas. On November 9, 2015, he was stripped of the title after testing positive for clomiphene and letrozole.
7. On June 11, 2017, his mother died at age 55 after a long battle with diabetes. On July 29, 2017, he became the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion by knocking out Cormier, the defending champion, via head kick and punches at “UFC 214” in Anaheim, California, USA. On September 13, 2017, his win was overturned to a no-contest because of his failed pre-fight drug test and Cormier was reinstated as the champion.
8. On December 28, 2018, Cormier vacated the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship title, which he won on December 29, 2018 by knocking out Gustafsson via punches at “UFC 232” in Inglewood, California.
9. On March 2, 2019, he successfully defended his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt from Anthony Smith at “UFC 235” in Las Vegas. In April 2019, he allegedly slapped and kissed a waitress at a strip club in Albuquerque. On July 6, 2019, he successfully defended his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt from Thiago Santos at “UFC 239” in Las Vegas. On September 26, 2019, he pleaded no contest to battery in Albuquerque.
10. On February 8, 2020, he successfully defended his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt from Dominick Reyes at “UFC 247” in Houston, Texas. On March 26, 2020, he was arrested in Albuquerque and charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated, negligent use of a firearm, possession of an open container and driving with no proof of insurance. On March 31, 2020, he pleaded guilty to the DWI charge and accepted a plea deal in which the other charges would be dropped. On August 17, 2020, he vacated the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship title.
11. On September 23, 2021, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. On September 25, 2021, he allegedly hit Moses inside their hotel in Las Vegas and headbutted the hood of the patrol vehicle of the police officers arresting him. He was charged with domestic battery, which was later dropped, and tampering with a police vehicle, which he pleaded no contest to. In December 2021, Moses left him.
12. In March 2022, he trained with Yorgan de Castro in Albuquerque. On October 14, 2022, he trained with Keith Jardine and Jordan Chavez.
13. He was 35 years old when he became the UFC Heavyweight Champion on March 4, 2023 by submitting Ciryl Gane via guillotine choke at “UFC 285” in Paradise, Nevada, which improved his professional MMA record to 27 wins, 1 loss and 1 No Contest.