Jon Jones on how his latest DWI arrest "set him free"; Opens up on possibly leaving UFC

Jon Jones and "trouble" have always been closely associated with each other. This past March after Jon Jones tweeted about staying inside, he was arrested for DWI (Driving while intoxicated) and was once again crucified by the MMA media and fans.

However, since then, he's stated that for the first time, he's been making a serious effort to get it together. Jon Jones has recently been in the headlines, not because of trouble, but being vocal about the fact that he felt he deserved more money.

This is perhaps a sentiment shared by most UFC fighters and Jorge Masvidal also joined him in criticizing the UFC. When appearing on the Steve-O’s Wild Ride! podcast (H/T MMA Fighting), Jon Jones opened up about possibly leaving the UFC and becoming the face of another promotion:

Advice while you Young fighters, if you’re hot right now. Get paid. As much as the Ufc is building your brand, you are building their’s. If you think your biggest paydays will come after being with the company for a while. You are wrong.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) June 8, 2020

I do believe wholeheartedly that the companies that own Bellator and some of these other leagues do have the same amount of financial backing that the UFC had and I do believe that having Jon Jones be the new face of your promotion, especially today when I’m really making an effort really for the first time to get my sh*t somewhat together,” Jones said.

He said that his DWI arrest "set him free":

It embarrassed me. It reality checked me. I’ve never been on camera drunk for the public to see like that. It was humiliating and somewhat of a bottom for me and I’m ready to snap it into high gear.”

Jon Jones went on to state that if he gets out of his UFC contract, he would be huge for another promotion. He's openly stated that he won't fight in the UFC again until he gets paid what he feels he's worth.

Just to be treated fair man. For all of us fighters to finally start getting a higher percentage. No one’s asking to break the bank, just show your athletes you don’t think we are all idiots. https://t.co/0Pgi8B1NmN
— BONY (@JonnyBones) June 8, 2020

Jon Jones and the Light Heavyweight division

Jon Jones last defeated Dominick Reyes on February 8th this year in a fight that many felt he lost. While UFC may have planned a rematch for this, Jan Blachowicz also stamped himself as the next contender following a vicious knockout of Corey Overdrive Anderson.

Jon Jones seemed to accept the challenge that Blachowicz presented but everything is on hold until the UFC and he manages to agree on a fair price. While Jon Jones gets a lot of flak from fans, it's hard to deny that he's underpaid. He's sold millions of PPVs and is among the most dominant champions in UFC history. He isn't the bad guy in this case.