UFC's Jon Jones training his brother, Ravens' Arthur Jones
Many fans consider UFC light heavyweight Jon “Bones” Jones one of the best fighters in the world. He is known in mixed martial arts as a very unorthodox fighter with exceptional grappling stills. But if you ask him who the best grappler in his family is, he would tell you that his brother, Arthur Jones, is hands-down the best in the family.
Arthur, the eldest brother, was a New York State heavyweight champion wrestler in 2003 and 2005 and was the runner-up in 2004.
I asked Jon about Arthur one day fighting in the octagon. “I think my brother would do great in the octagon. My brother has been living with me for about three weeks now, and his wrestling is on a completely different level. Honestly I think my brother’s clinch…well without starting anything. I really don’t see anyone in the heavyweight division right now being about to punch with my brother and not get thrown. My brother has amazing Greco-Roman wrestling [skills], and since he has been here, my Greco-Roman has come back completely.”
Arthur plays defensive end for the Ravens, with whom he just completed his first year. One of his teammates is safety Tom Zbikowski, who just fought as a heavyweight boxer in Las Vegas and plans to fight again this month in Atlantic City. He is able to compete in another sport because of the NFL lockout. If the lockout continues into the season, we could possibly see another Ravens player cross over into another sport.
Jon gave an estimated time to yahoosports.com on how long it would take for Arthur to get ready to fight in the octagon if he chose to fight. “If he dedicated one year to the twice-a-day training lifestyle, I think he could compete with the UFC heavyweight champion. He's that special. It took me three years to get where I am, and Arthur is so special. He could get here in a year and a half.”
I talked to Arthur in the Ravens locker room back in November 2010 about potentially fighting in the octagon. I saw him at a local MMA event in Baltimore earlier that fall. He told me that he would like to fight one day in the octagon, but he would want his first fight to be against a super heavyweight similar to a guy we saw that lost that night. The fighter was 6-2 and weighed more than 350 pounds. This guy wasn’t in the best of shape. “I would beat him by putting him on his back right at the start of the fight,” Arthur said.
When you talk to Arthur or Jon, you get a sense that their parents, Arthur Sr. and Camille, did a wonderful job in raising these young men. No matter what they would have done in life, they would have been successful.
Kevin Richardson has been a fan of mixed martial arts competition ever since UFC 3, when 600-pound sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarborough was beaten by Keith Hackney. Kevin will cover the world of MMA — in Baltimore, nationally and internationally. He plans to take readers into the locker rooms and MMA schools, where they'll hear from local fighters and trainers. If you have a news tip or suggestions for the blog, please 
Comments
Well done Kevin, thanks for posting this.
I have high hopes -as a Ravens fan- that Arthur continues his push toward becoming a solid regular contributor on our D-Line, so any MMA talk would concern me in that regard. Though if he were to pursue a career in the octagon, I'd certainly wish him the best.
Greg,
Arthur truly wants to remain a Raven for years to come. I believe Arthur loves playing pro football, but the subject of MMA comes up so often because of his brother Jon Jones. Arthur is the type of athlete that could succeed in many different sports. He's that good of an athlete. I enjoy the Ravens as well and would like to see him on the D-Line along with Ngata.
-Kevin
Posted by: Greg | March 18, 2011 7:45 PM