UFC News: Jon Jones Returns To Training, When Will He Return To The Octagon?
It was reported last week that the Jon Jones hit-and-run case will likely be brought before a grand jury, as Bernalillo County [New Mexico] district attorney Kari Bradenburg has requested outstanding evidence from the case, and once it’s received, Bradenburg anticipates that the case will be brought to a grand jury.
Despite his troubles, the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion is trying to stay positive, and one of the things that he believes is going to help him do just that is training at Greg Jackson’s Gym in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as Jon Jones’s teammate Igor Araujo has confirmed that Jones has been training every day, and that Jones’ personal issues haven’t had a negative impact on his training.
“He trains every day. He’s always joking around and laughing. I spoke with him the other day and he’s cool, being positive. The coach tells us what to do and he trains normally, every single day. He’s in shape, too.”
“On the first day Jones returned to the gym, they put him to clean the mat when the training session was over. They always pick someone to clean the mat after the training, and he didn’t complain he had to do it. He’s a nice guy, and a look up to him inside the gym.”
Araujo also expects Jon Jones — who was stripped of his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in April — to eventually return to the UFC and get his title back.
“Those in the UFC know that he’s the champion, and he will get that belt back. The champion is the best. Rafael dos Anjos won the title because he defeated everybody. Chris Weidman did the same thing. Jon Jones lost the title to himself. I told him that already. ‘The only man that can beat you is yourself.’ We lose to ourselves all the time.”
The UFC would like to have Jones back in the octagon as soon as possible. UFC President Dana White has said that Jones will get an immediate championship opportunity upon his return, which could very well be against the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier, who Jones defeated this past January.
When Jones was suspended by the UFC, he was the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and he’ll likely reclaim that title as soon as he returns to action.
There is some hope that Jones can get all of his legal issues resolved within the next year, so he’ll be able to return to the UFC before the end of 2016. However, there are some people who are close to Jones that believe he will never return to the UFC ever again, but that doesn’t seem likely given how young he is.
[Image via Steve Snowden / Getty Images]
