UFC
Manager Malki Kawa says "It could very well be the last time we've seen Jon Jones in the Octagon"
May 4, 2015 - 3:55:19 PM Manager Malki Kawa says "It could very well be the last time we've seen Jon Jones in the Octagon"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"It could very well be the last time we've seen Jon Jones in the Octagon. I think Jon Jones is gonna focus on Jon Jones. I think he's gonna take the time to do whatever he's gotta do. And if it's the last time we've seen him fight, it's the last time we've seen him fight. And I'm OK with that... What I can just tell you and you guys can read between the lines is that I think every athlete comes to a point and it's not just Jon Jones. I've had other guys when they look in the mirror one day, they realize that a lot of it maybe is just sometimes too much. It's just too much. If you don't fight a guy on seven days notice, you're trash. If you stop a mugger, you're a great guy, thanks so much. Now you're the new world champion, you have to do all these interviews. There's so much that goes into it. It's not just him, that's what I'm trying to tell you. You see it with GSP, you see it with Anderson.

If he ever doesn't come back to the sport, it's because he doesn't want to come back to the sport. If it was because of too much pressure? Could be. If it's because of the belt? Could be. If it's because the competition is too much, it could be. Whatever he decides is the reason why he won't come back to the sport, but it'll be solely on him. I'm not gonna blame anything or anyone for anything Jon Jones does. And no one, at the same token, can take credit for anything Jon Jones does. Everything that's Jon Jones' is Jon Jones'. The good, the bad, and the ugly. If this is the last time we've ever seen him fight and it very well may be, then it's because of a decision he's decided to make. It won't be because of something you guys are perceiving to be a problem. It won't be because of any of the negative headlines of the positive things he's done. It's just because he feels he's had it. Maybe that's it."

-Jon Jones' manager talks to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour about why he thinks the now-former Champion may not ever return to MMA after being stripped of his belt and suspended.

Penick's Analysis: While Jones can't play the victim after crashing his rental car into another person and fleeing the scene, there's been enough in his past dealings with the UFC to see him saying he's had enough. There seems to be a little vindictiveness on the UFC's part in actually stripping him of the title, a move that wasn't really expected, because of his past refusal to play certain games of theirs. Obviously the relationship has been strained since the cancellation of UFC 151 in 2012. Of course, while Jones might not be happy with how he's been portrayed in the past, how he's been promoted at times by the UFC, and might perceive some of the reaction to him as unfair, his own actions have brought all of it on. All of that said, I would be quite surprised if Jones doesn't ever fight again. He's been too good for too long, and there's still a lot of money for him to make in this sport despite the situation he's currently in. Once he gets past the legal issues he's facing, and is thinking about things outside of the cloud of negativity surrounding this past week, I think he'll be coming back.

[Jon Jones art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]