When talking to Jon Jones it's hard to believe he's only 22 years old. And I'm not just saying that because of his success in the octagon, nor because of his poise during our call. But his admiration for his family and his views on life make you think he's lived a full life already.
He met his fiance Jessie in high school. He was a Senior and she was a Junior. It was Science class where he first spotted her beauty. It wasn't until she dropped her pencil and he raced to get it that finally connected. Fast forward a couple of years and now they're the proud parents of two baby girls. Leah is now 18 months and Carmen is just 9 weeks.
When I asked Jon about his relationship, family life and how do you focus on camp he said "This sport can turn you into somewhat of a celebrity. Leaving my parents' home and going into this sport, could really confuse a young fighter. But being with Jessie it keeps things in check for me. It doesn't get to my head, and I live the life of an older man. It keeps me in the house and grounded. Jessie is definitely a huge percentage of my success."
I asked him about having such a young baby at home and being at camp. How do they deal with that as a family? Jon said "With the girls being such a young age, not seeing them for even two weeks I miss out on a lot. They change so much in that short amount of time. We Skype every day. I make funny videos for them to see daddy."
But it's nice to see he's in good company. Being at a camp with someone like Joe "Daddy" Stevenson, he's not the only one leaving behind a family to focus on his next opponent. Jon said he puts the guys on the phone to talk to Jessie and girls.
I asked him a question that I thought he'd actually sort of laugh at.. "Fast forward 20 years, Carmen says she wants to be a fighter, what would you say?" He surprised me with his response, "I'd support her 100% and make sure that she takes it seriously. I'd help her make sure she's putting her best foot forward. Plus it's hot that girls fight."
Knowing his desire and interest in Criminal Justice I had to ask him about it. Does he watch Law & Order and much as I do? Laughing he said "YES! One of my coaches was my Criminal Justice teacher and was sort of lazy. So he'd put an episode in just let us watch it. I think I got an A in that class!"
I also had to ask about the infamous DQ (illegal elbows) against Matt Hamill. He said "Yeah I was upset at first but was ready to move on. It sort of took pressure off of me knowing I had that one loss on my record. It was my management that wanted to protest it. I don't think it was really reviewed that much so it is what it is. In my heart I'm still undefeated. I've seen and hung out with Matt since then and we're cool."
So when you tune into watch Jon fight Brandon Vera March 21st on Versus, know this. "I'm doing this for my family. I'm doing this so my little girls can go to college. I'm NOT giving this fight to Brandon."
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