There is at least one person who isn’t so excited to see Jon Jones return to competition.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the former UFC light heavyweight champion who fought and lost to Jones in 2011, said Friday night on Inside MMA on AXS TV (h/t MMA Junkie) that he believes the consensus best fighter in the world is a dirty fighter and is not good for MMA.
Jackson told Inside MMA co-hosts Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten:
Honestly, I think Jon Jones is bad for the sport. Because when he fights people, he injures us. He kicked my knee backwards. My knee is never the same. He’s done that to a couple other guys. I saw him rip one guy’s shoulder out of the socket. We’re just trying to do the same thing he’s trying to do: earn a living and do the sport that we love.
Jones has been accused of dirty play—by Rutten, among others—before. Eye pokes and push kicks to the knee (probably the technique Jackson was referencing) are often viewed as Jones’ most frequent dirty plays.
However, it was unclear who Jackson meant when he mentioned the dislocated shoulder, but Glover Teixeira, Jones’ opponent in 2014 at UFC 172, did sustain a shoulder dislocation in that bout.
The only loss on Jones’ 21-1 record came by disqualification when the referee stopped his bout with Matt Hamill after Jones threw illegal downward elbow strikes.
Of course, dirtiness in various phases of life have characterized much of Jones’ time in the public eye. On Friday, the UFC formally reinstated Jones after a months-long suspension for his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run car wreck that left a pregnant woman with a fractured arm.
Jones last competed in January, when he defeated Daniel Cormier by unanimous decision to retain the UFC light heavyweight title. However, he was suspended not long thereafter and was stripped of his championship in the process.
As it happens, Cormier captured the newly vacant title by defeating Anthony Johnson in May. Though a next opponent has not been announced for Jones or Cormier, it stands to reason that the two are on a collision course for a rematch sooner or later. It will be interesting to see if accusations of dirty play follow Jones any farther as his career resumes.
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