We all know how Jon Jones played a pivotal role in making Mike Perry and his wife, Latory Gonzalez, meet. However, when it came to his own love life, Jones witnessed quite a bit of trouble. Of course, he used to receive immense support from his significant other, Jessie Moses. But don’t get it wrong. Moses wasn’t really married to the UFC heavyweight champion. The duo had been engaged to each other for about a decade. But that was until Jones revealed that Moses left him for good in 2021. Nevertheless, they have parented three daughters. And the eldest came to the world while Jones was still planning to get into the UFC. This fact was something that baffled the MMA realm.
Jones’ early mixed martial arts days came to light during his recent conversation with Victor Fontanez, the popular barber from DeepCut with VicBlends. The heavyweight champion was reminded of the past when the barber pointed out that it was almost impossible for him to tell his fiancée that he was going to become a professional MMA fighter while she was pregnant with their first child. And he asked ‘Bones’ about the gamble that he dealt while addressing that during his troubling times.
The Rochester-born heavyweight star said, “Yeah, it was a huge gamble for me, Vic. This is around 2007, 2007-2008.” He reflected back on time and revealed that he had two brothers studying at the University of Syracuse during that time. And these brothers were destined to become NFL stars. That’s how good their performance was. But things were a bit different for the heavyweight champion.
He continued, “You know, I had a baby on the way, I ended up dropping out of school, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I knew that I didn’t want to be a statistic, you know, another young man out there, you know, abandoning kids and stuff like that. So, I knew whatever I did, I wanted to do it at the highest level, and I wanted to keep up with the Joneses, you know. I wanted to keep up with my brothers and do something big. And so, I started to do Jiu-Jitsu after college with the intentions of making it to the UFC.”
Needless to say, ‘Bones’ built himself a giant legacy with his performance in the fighting realm. Now, Jones’ legacy has entered severe scrutiny. While the entire world wanted to watch him fight Tom Aspinall, he has been arguably evading the bout with all his might. But does this actually mean that Jones doesn’t really want to fight anymore? Let’s take a look.
What does Jon Jones have planned for his future?
As the conversation continued, Jones weighed in on his plans for the future. Unfortunately, these plans did not involve the interim heavyweight champion. He said, “Right now I’m just focusing on love, happiness, kindness, we’re in the quarter-century mark, and this year should be a really special year. This year, I’m saying yes to more opportunities. I’m traveling more. I’m consciously being kinder to people, and that’s just the way of my mind right now, is just love and kindness and peace and focusing on family and focusing on me, my aura.”
So, how can Jones make his year special? He claimed that he was just trying to be the best businessman he could be. According to him, he had to prove himself in fields beyond the MMA realm. ‘Bones’ took to acting next. Yes, he’s indeed starring in a Hollywood movie. But in the end, he wanted to be someone who could inspire others. He said, “Just try to inspire others and help other UFC fighters in some of the ways where I went wrong as far as pay and endorsements and what to look out for as far as the leeches and things like that. Try to be a great mentor to some of these young guys that are coming up and make it to heaven.”
Jones has already conquered two divisions in the UFC. His only loss via disqualification is being argued to be turned into a no-contest. And he’s already on the verge of retirement. But as the fighting realm rallies behind calls for Jones vs Aspinall, the heavyweight champion declared that he’ll always love MMA. After all, martial arts is the one thing that put him on the world map.
What do you think of Jones’ early struggles? Do you think you can convince your partner to let you fight for a living while going through a pregnancy? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post “I Didn’t Want to Be a Statistic” – Jon Jones Relives Past Struggles While Addressing Relationship With Fiancée appeared first on EssentiallySports.
