Jon Jones Wants To ‘Model Acting Career On Dwayne Johnson’

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones could be making the leap into acting once he’s done fighting in the Octagon.

“I’d like to model my acting career on Dwayne Johnson, the way he came out of [WWE] and started off tough guy roles and then moved over to doing Tooth Fairy,” the 26-year-old told MMAjunkie.com. “That’s when you really saw that he could act, and he’s the one I admire and respect a lot, so I know I’d love to model my acting career after (him).”

Jones is hardly the first MMA fighter to flirt with acting. Women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was recently cast in The Expendables 3, which also features fellow UFC fighters Randy Couture and Victor Ortiz. Rousey said that she was “very fortunate” to have Ortiz and Couture and “other fighter-type people there,” and that the producers arranged her schedule so that she would still be able to train during filming.

Incidentally, it was Dwayne Johnson who announced last week that Rousey would also be appearing in Fast & Furious 7. The 26-year-old also said that she was considering retiring in two years.

Other MMA fighters who have pursued acting include Rampage Jackson (The A-Team) and Gina Carano (Fast & Furious 6).

Like Rousey, Jones is also thinking about life after UFC. He said he started making the rounds at Hollywood studios at the beginning of the summer and received positive feedback.

“Those meetings went great,” he said. “I realize that they see that I have a little bit of character on me, and with the right training, I could possibly be in some movies in the future.”

Jones, who is the youngest champion in UFC history, added, “As an entertainer, I think acting is one of the highest levels you can get, and right now, I’m doing pretty well in my field, which is the martial arts world. To branch out a little bit and get my feet wet there and maybe prepare myself for a career after this career, I think it’s all part of the plan.”

Jones said he would take acting as seriously as fighting, and would “definitely take a lot of classes.”

Until then, Jon Jones is set to defend his UFC light heavyweight championship against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 on September 21.

What do you think of Jon Jones potentially pursuing an acting career?