Jon Jones Seeks Career Longevity, Draws Inspiration from Mayweather, Hopkins

Once upon a time, Jon Jones was tentatively planning an early exit strategy from mixed martial arts. Jones addressed the topic shortly after edging Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 in the toughest test of his stellar professional career. Back then, “Bones” expressed a desire to retire by age 30. “I’m 26 now. I think a man can be in his fighting prime until his mid 30s,” Jones told CBS Baltimore in November 2013. “Saying that though I would like to retire by 30, so a few more years.” These days, however, Jones has a different vision, and he attributes much of that to the lifestyle changes he has implemented during the course of the past year. The former light heavyweight king, of course, has been on hiatus for more than a year after injuring a pregnant women in a hit-and-run accident in Albuquerque, N.M., last April. After he was suspended and stripped of his title, Jones not only found a new diet and powerlifting-based workout, but he claims to have stayed away from the alcohol and drugs that fueled him at his partying peak. All of the above leads Jones to believe that he can fight and succeed at a high level well past 30 years old. “Things have changed. My main reason for wanting career longevity is I see that …

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