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Long before UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones had dreams of winning a title belt or goals of becoming a mixed martial artist, his religion and his older brother Arthur Jones motivated him to strive to be the best. When he was in high school competing for a New York state wrestling championship, it was Arthur -- a defensive lineman on the Ravens -- who gave him words of encouragement and motivation.

So, when Jon set out to win the light heavyweight championship, it was only fitting that Arthur was once again in his corner.

“It was great to have my brother to motivate me to win my first world title, because it was him that motivated me to win my first state championship,” Jon said.

As a professional football player, Arthur would normally spend his off-season at the Ravens' training facility in Owings Mills. But because of the lockout he had to workout on his own and prepare himself for the upcoming season. 

Arthur had also set goals for himself this year, and it was his little brother Jon who kept him motivated.

Jon is an avid reader of motivational books and quotes. You can often find him quoting verses from the Bible to quotes from Bruce Lee. So when Arthur was aiming to rekindle the dominance he had shown at Syracuse, it was no surprise who he talked to.

“Basically knowing where I came from when I was at Syracuse, I've always been that guy that the coach could depend on to be out there to dominate," Arthur said. "Last year I was playing and healing up from injuries from college. Learning a new system, it was like being in college all over again as a freshman. Watching our last game against Pittsburgh from the sideline, knowing that I felt that I could help. So, I didn’t take anytime off and went straight into training and hopefully it pays off this year."

Jon had just won the biggest fight of his MMA career, defeating Ryan Bader, who at the time was 12-0. Jon won the fight in exciting fashion, taking home the “Submission of the Night” bonus by landing a guillotine choke in the second round. After the fight, Jon was given opportunity to fight for the World Light-Heavyweight Championship against Mauricio Rua. But, he would have only 41 days to train for the fight.

Around the same time the Ravens football season had just wrapped up and Arthur was told what the team was expecting from him during the NFL lockout.

“He knew what he had to do in the off-season when he left here," Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano said. " Especially with the lockout, [defensive line] coach [Clarence] Brooks made it perfectly clear, here is what we expect you."

Arthur joined Jon in Albuquerque, N.M., in the high attitudes of the desert, to cross train at Greg Jackson’s mixed martial arts gym. Arthur intended to get in better shape, but still try and take it as a vacation.

“But [Jon] didn’t let me do that," Arthur said. "After missing a workout one day, Jon told me that, ‘laziness is contagious’. Our daily routine was boxing in the morning, wrestling in the afternoon, followed by weightlifting. On Fridays, we ran the sand dunes for cardio, which was a mountain full of sand. We did that about 4-5 times, and it was rough. We did so many different things that my body feels so alive now. I was able to drop around 9 percent body fat.”

Along with that, Jon shared with Arthur a lesson he learned from Jackson, an MMA guru.

“Greg Jackson taught me how to dig deep and embrace pain and suffering, and the warrior spirit," Jon said. "So that’s something I got to show [Arthur]. That’s something he would not have gotten at a college football practice. I gave him a little bit of what Ray Lewis has.

"Ray Lewis doesn’t look at football as a football game or running sprints and lifting heavy weights. Ray Lewis looks at it as warfare. It’s surprising that he has that mentality because he’s never been a martial artist. With Arthur being around Greg Jackson’s and this high altitude training and this desert, it taught him how to look at football as more than a game but as warfare.”