July 23, 2008
ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS
Jon Jones: "I Got the Call"
By Derek Constable

Some fighters can spend years grinding out wins in feeder shows before they catch they eye of Dana White and the illustrious Ultimate Fighting Championship, but New York’s Jon Jones is no ordinary competitor. Fighting four out of five weekends to start his career, he’s amassed a 6-0 record in no time at all and just three days after becoming the Battle Cage Xtreme Light-Heavyweight Champ with a first-round TKO over Moyses Gabin -- he got that fateful call from the UFC President.

“It’s amazing. I’m in the UFC!” Jones said late Tuesday evening. “I’ll be fighting Aug. 9 in Minneapolis at UFC 87 against one of Renzo Gracie’s Pitbulls from the International Fight League. He was the back-up to Jamal Patterson.” (Andre Gusmao)

It was immediately apparent upon Jones’ first footsteps into a cage that this was his calling. His days in as a wrestler in both high school and college have served him well in controlling the biggest of foes while his knockout power was a surprise even to him after recording back-to-back KOs just seven days apart (TKO - April 12, KO - April 19)..

"I never ever used my hands before MMA,” he said. “Those wins definitely opened up my eyes a lot. The first knockout made me hungry for more and made me realize that there were new ways I could get in peoples’ faces.”

The intimidation factor grew as tales of Jones’ dominant wins began to circulate throughout New England and New Jersey. Word spread quickly about the fighter who was 0-0 April 12 and 3-0 with a pair of KOs by April 25.

No one wanted to be another notch in this guy’s belt … a soon-to-be dad on a warpath to make some cash for him and his family, Jones made the transition from wrestling to MMA when he found out he and his girlfriend had a baby girl on the way and little money in the bank. He thought MMA would be the quickest way to earn some honest money and besides why let his years of wrestling go to waste.

“I thought wrestling was my passion. I used to live, sleep and breathe wrestling, but I was looking for another form of wrestling, where I could throw a few licks on some people, and MMA was the closest thing to it,” Jones said.

While the sport is much more brutal then any collegiate wrestling encounter, Jones has walked through the first six times and barely been singed. His fights have only left the first round once and he nearly always celebrates his knockouts with a giant smile and a long arm raised high in the air seeking the crowd's approval. But don't mistake his excitement for arrogance as this son of a church pastor is just a ferocious fighter with the heart of a kid.

“Fighting is definitely a lot of fun for me,” Jones said. “There’s no part of the sport that I don‘t like… the dancing, the waving to the crowd and everything is just to show people I’m not some Mirko Cro Cop -- stone-faced fighter -- I definitely have a lot personality and I show it in my victories.”

Jones hopes to continue his win streak Aug. 9 at the highest level as he goes toe to toe with a probably his toughest opponent yet in Gusmao -- this time in a UFC Octagon.

“Everyone’s extremely excited since I got the information. My Mom and Dad didn’t really understand what I was into, the extent of it, Mom even made the comment, ‘I thought you were already in the UFC?’ I had to explain to her I do MMA and the UFC is a big step up from just being an MMA fighter.”