After he was arrested and charged with domestic violence in September former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was reportedly expelled from his longtime gym. His ouster from Jackson Winkeljohn MMA Academy was seemingly at the behest of Mike Winkeljohn.
Jones later stated that he would continue to work with Greg Jackson and Brandon Gibson, but not on Jack-Wink property.
Last night Jones put out an online appeal for a new team and training partners. He also stated that he “definitely won’t be going back” to the gym that he spent the bulk of his UFC career with.
“I will continue to root for all the fighters that are training there,” he wrote. “I do believe my training methods and sessions have improved significantly since changing environments. Grateful for all the time I got to spend there, everything has its time.”
Jones then revealed that his much improved training sessions have been happening at his home. Though he’s now looking to expand on that and track down new gyms to attend and training partners to work with.
“I know I won’t be able to train in my garage forever,” wrote Jones. “Eventually I’m going to need more training partners. Mainly wrestling partners and kickboxers. I’m on the lookout for teams that I’ll be able to visit and come train with, maybe get some sparring sessions in.”
Jones has not appeared in the Octagon since taking a unanimous decision victory over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February 2020. With that win he defended the UFC light heavyweight title for a record 11th time.
Shortly after that victory Jones vacated the title and announced his intention to compete in the UFC’s heavyweight division.
Since then Jones and UFC champ Francis Ngannou have campaigned to fight each other. However, the UFC balked at their pay demands and instead strong-armed Ngannou into a bout with Ciryl Gane, whom they awarded an interim title to for a win over Derrick Lewis.
It had been assumed that Jones would return to action in 2022 and that his heavyweight debut would be for a title. However, his arrest in Vegas—the latest in a long string of controversial incidents—has put his future in the UFC in doubt.
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