Jon Jones`s Wikipedia page prominently lists numerous accomplishments during his UFC career, achievements that have solidified his status as arguably the greatest fighter of all time. However, a significant portion of his overall biography is also dedicated to detailing his issues outside the octagon.
His career has been marred by a series of legal troubles, including a DWI arrest just weeks after one of his major wins against Rashad Evans, a hit-and-run car accident involving a pregnant woman, and arrests based on domestic violence allegations. This is in addition to behavior that didn`t necessarily involve law enforcement, such as testing positive for cocaine just weeks before his fight and victory over Daniel Cormier in the UFC.
Yet, despite this extensive record of misconduct, fellow UFC legend Matt Brown dismisses the idea that Jones`s many missteps truly diminish the legacy he leaves behind now that he has retired.
Speaking on *The Fighter vs. The Writer*, Brown asserted, “We’re going to remember him as the greatest ever still. All that shit, that’s what I guess the nitpickers and the hardcore people, that’s what they’re going to be talking about. Look, he fights in a cage for our entertainment and he did it at the highest level that’s ever been witnessed on this planet. I don’t respect the other shit he did, I don’t think anyone does. Like no one’s like ‘that was cool, whatever, forget about it.’ But do we really care? There’s a million people out there doing terrible shit all the time. He did that terrible shit and continued to be the best in the world’s asses. So I’m not justifying what he did or anything but I speak the name Jon Jones out of my mouth because of his fighting. That’s all I care to talk about with him. I’m only talking about myself, other people may have different opinions but I’m not going to change what I remember about him based on that shit. All I remember is what I’ve seen on TV. That’s all I care about. What is that other shit, it’s basically irrelevant. In my opinion, he should be remembered for what he did inside the cage and this shit outside, is a completely separate, irrelevant thing.”
Beyond impacting public opinion, Jones`s numerous legal issues over the years directly caused him to miss significant periods of time competing in the UFC while dealing with the repercussions. He also faced drug testing failures, which prevented him from fighting at UFC 200 and ultimately cost him one of the biggest wins of his career when his knockout victory over Cormier in their rematch was overturned to a no-contest.
Brown acknowledges Jones`s history with performance-enhancing drugs—allegations that Jones has vehemently denied repeatedly—as potentially the only true “asterisk” attached to the career he built in the UFC.
As for Jones`s various legal entanglements, Brown argues that Jones ultimately faced every significant opponent he was ever expected to fight throughout his career, with the possible exception of a potential showdown against Tom Aspinall towards the very end, just before his retirement.
Brown stated, “I don’t see where it got in his way that much. He beat everybody’s ass that was a potential challenger. There was never a time where this guy needs to fight Jon Jones and it didn’t happen. Now we’re talking about the tail end of his career. We knew he was on the way out anyway. We’ve been talking about him retiring for a long time now. He’s talked about it for a long time. We knew he was on his way out.”
Addressing the argument that Jones might have “ducked” Tom Aspinall, Brown quickly dismissed the notion. “He’s not ducking Tom Aspinall,” Brown said, though he conceded that Jones might simply not have been “interested in that tough of a fight.” However, he emphatically rejected the idea of Jones “ducking.”
While he certainly isn`t minimizing the seriousness of Jones`s bad behavior, Brown understands from personal experience that troubles outside the cage can indeed significantly impact a fighter`s ability to perform inside it.
Brown admits he is astounded by the fact that Jones somehow tested positive for cocaine from a sample taken just weeks before the fight against Daniel Cormier in 2015 and still managed to deliver such a definitive win.
Sharing his own perspective, Brown noted, “I’ve seen less f*ck ups really f*ck up someone’s fight career. I’ve done a lot of cocaine in my life. It’s been a long time, many, many years —I cannot imagine for the life of me going out to a professional fight, nonetheless against a f*cking Olympian [Daniel Cormier], one of the greatest fighters ever and having a f*cking chance.” He added, “I can’t even imagine walking out. I can’t imagine weighing in or walking out. That is a special, special motherf*cker.”
Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion regarding Jon Jones, but Brown reiterated that his focus remains solely on Jones`s accomplishments in the UFC, which he considers undeniable.
Is it possible that Jones could have placed himself in an almost entirely untouchable category all his own if he hadn`t faced all those personal and legal issues? Perhaps, but Brown maintains that Jones still had a remarkably successful career regardless.
Brown speculated that had Jones not encountered these issues, “yeah, he probably could have fought more often and I think he could be 60-0 right now if he wanted.” He suggested that in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, there wouldn`t have been “a single guy in the division who didn’t lose to Jon Jones. He just beat everybody.”
Despite the obstacles he created for himself, Jones managed to “get out of his own way enough to have 14 title defenses and go undefeated.” Brown concluded by asking, “It’s like how much more greatness do we want out of the guy?”
