Jon Jones prevented a mugging on the same day he became the youngest champion in UFC history.
In the last few weeks, Jones has made a stunning U-turn on his MMA retirement, declaring his interest in fighting at the UFC White House card in July 2026.
‘Bones’ had originally retired last month, signalling a passing of the guard as Brit Tom Aspinall was promoted to the undisputed heavyweight champion in Dana White‘s promotion.
Messages poured in to commemorate the 38-year-old on his legendary career, which many members of the MMA fraternity views as one of the greatest of all time.
Jones made his UFC debut in August 2008, and his iconic run in MMA’s premier promotion started when he became the UFC’s youngest-ever champion three years later.
The 23-year-old at the time entered a light heavyweight title bout with Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua at UFC 128 in March 2011 on a three-fight winning streak.
‘Bones’ started the fight by cracking Rua instantly with a wild flying knee to set a precedent of things to come.
He would go on to dominate ‘Shogun’ in the opening two rounds, before finishing the MMA veteran in the third minute of round three.
It was the biggest fight and win of Jones’ career at the time, but things had heated up even before the young man entered the octagon.
During his winning post-fight press conference at UFC 128, Jones explained how he saved an elderly woman from being robbed just hours before his New Jersey title fight.
Jones had been looking for a place to meditate ahead of the bout, as he has claimed that being at one with nature before big fights provided him with energy.
“My coaches and I find a place with a very powerful waterfall, but around this waterfall is a very ghetto area,” he explained.
“As the guy [driver] pulls us up in his car, he’s like ‘Listen guys, before I drop you off, I’m going to let you know this is a pretty bad neighbourhood, so you might want to be careful… a lot of people get mugged here.’
“Just as he said that, I turned to pull off my seatbelt, and I saw an old Spanish couple screaming. They’re running, and I’m like, ‘Dude, they just got mugged.’
“The lady said, ‘The guy just broke my window, he took all my stuff and he’s running!’
“I’m like, ‘Holy c**p… It’s time for me to take action.’ I threw my stuff on the floor, told the driver to take care of my stuff, and just started running…”
Jones said he began chasing the man in question and noticed him getting tired.
“The guy looks back and trips over his own foot,” he added.
“And I started barking, because I didn’t know what to do when I caught him.
“He then tries to stand up, but I scooped up one of his behind feet from under him with my foot, just kicked him and his ankle out.
“He scraped his hands pretty good…I was looking at him on the floor, thinking, ‘Do I ground-and-pound him?’
“My coach then came out of nowhere and jumped on the guy’s back. I grabbed the guy’s feet, put him in this move and figure-foured his legs…he’s screaming, and my coach is speaking Spanish…
“So we hold him until the police come. At that point, I’m just sitting on him resting, because I’ve got a fight coming up.
“The police asked me, ‘Why are you here? Don’t you have a fight coming up?’
“It was great, me and my coaches then all felt like superheroes, and had the best meditation session after.
“I felt really good after that and thought, ‘I gotta win this fight.'”
Jones did exactly that and never lost a fight again in White’s promotion.
He still holds the record for most wins in UFC title fights with 16, ahead of Georges St-Pierre, who finished his career on 13.
Who is the only fighter to defeat Jon Jones?
Jones’ only UFC defeat came in December 2009, when he fought Matt Hamill in The Ultimate Fighter’s finale.
Jones dominated what was his third UFC appearance, controlling Hamill, even dislocating his shoulder on a takedown, before hammering him with ground and pound strikes.
However, the future UFC champion was disqualified by referee Steve Mazzagatti after landing a series of illegal ’12-6′ elbows on Hamill’s face.
Hamill remains the only fighter with a victory over Jones in MMA and has since had a movie made about his fascinating career.