Jon Jones has perplexed fans after an update on social media about his custody battle for his son! ‘Bones,’ the current UFC undisputed heavyweight champion, has been out of competition since suffering from a pectoral tendon tear ahead of his clash against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295. Just as UFC CEO Dana White shared an update on Jones’ professional career, there’s also been a development in the fighter’s personal life – the “happiest” news he could’ve gotten!
In an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, Dana White said about Jon Jones: “He’s doing well, we’ll see him soon. We’ll either see him in the summer or the fall.” Since Jones has been out of action, Tom Aspinall captured the interim UFC heavyweight title against Sergei Pavlovich as the pair replaced Jones vs. Miocic at UFC 295. While Aspinall is set to defend his interim crown against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in Manchester, he revealed, “If I win this one, which I believe I will, the next fight has to be for undisputed [gold].”
But while the heavyweight division is moving ahead in Jones’ absence, the undisputed champion took to X on Friday, writing, “I was just granted 50/50 custody of my son, I’m the happiest dad in the world today.” This announcement had fans scratching their heads. Why? The confusion stems from the fact that there have been no reports of Jones having a son, and the fighter has also only shared updates about his four daughters in past interviews and on social media.
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So, when a fan shared his post on Reddit, not only was other users’ confusion evident, but so were the digs taken at Daniel Cormier. It’s no secret that before Cormier retired in 2020, he and Jones – considered two of the baddest light heavyweights in the history of the UFC – had a bad-blood feud, a rivalry for the ages. And it started right from their very first interaction – a he-said-he-said situation, a misunderstanding.
Jones recalled what went down between them in that first interaction more than a decade ago, saying, “The whole story behind me and him is just so silly. I met him, and I came up to him with a big smile on my face… I felt the need to say hello to him.” When he said hello, ‘Bones’ brought up that his coaches told him that Cormier was an Olympic wrestler. “I was like, ‘I bet you that I could take you down,'” Jones revealed that he’d joked. However, ‘DC’ didn’t take it that way and so started their feud.
From Cormier’s point of view, “He looked down on me and started to make derogatory comments towards me, talking about how he could take me down easy and stuff.” All said and done, though, this encounter led to one of the best rivalries the sport has ever seen. And it also led to two intense fights at UFC 182 and UFC 214, both of which were won by ‘Bones.’ However, their second encounter was ruled a no-contest after Jon Jones tested positive for Turinabol.
I was just granted 50/50 custody of my son, I’m the happiest dad in the world today.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) June 21, 2024
That said, these two fights were precisely why fans dragged Daniel Cormier into the narrative after Jon Jones announced his 50/50 custody. Here’s what they had to say…
From “split decisions” to sons named Daniel Cormier, fans dissect Jon Jones’ update
The first thing fans caught on was “son.” The 34-year-old has mentioned his daughters many times. Back in 2016, in a conversation with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, ‘Bones’ even stated that he has four of them, who he shares with his fiancée, Jessie Moses. While many presumed his son might be from a different relationship, most were just shocked to know he had one. “Am I the only one shocked that he has a son?” They weren’t the only ones.
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Many users still believed he had just three daughters. “I thought he had 3 daughters. Since when does he have a son?” But that’s where ‘DC’ came into the picture, too. Giving their take on who Jon Jones’ son is, one fan wrote, “His name is Daniel Cormier.” This was likely because of Jones’ success against Cormier. Besides their encounters at UFC 182 (initially scheduled for UFC 178) and UFC 214, who can forget their brawl from the UFC 178 pre-fight event?
As they touched their foreheads, ‘DC’ shoved Jones by his throat, and that led to the now-34-year-old pushing the public relations officer in between them and taking a shot at Cormier. While others tried intervening, it led to a broken stage and fines for both fighters. Jones paid a $40,000 fine and got 40 hours of community service, while Cormier got a $9,000 fine and 20 hours of community service. Jones may have lost his association with Nike because of the brawl, but it still seemed like he came out on top here, too.
Considering this, the digs at Daniel Cormier continued, with more Redditors assuming ‘DC’ was the “son” Jones was talking about. In light of his announcement, one wrote, “That’s nice. He’s going to spend more time with DC now.” Apart from dragging Cormier into the fray, some took jabs at Jones’ controversial unanimous decision victories like his clash against Dominick Reyes from UFC 267. Reyes recently stated on the Jaxxon Podcast: “That night, I felt very disrespected by those skewed numbers…”
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Considering this, a fan commented, “Jon getting a favorable judges decision again.” Others even called it a split decision, owing to the 50/50 custody. The heavyweight champion has had just one split-decision fight in his entire career, which came against Thiago Santos at UFC 239. Another wrote, “Went to a split decision with the court system also.”
Some implored Jones to make his return and face Tom Aspinall in a unification bout, too. “Now, if he would just unify the belts.” Jon Jones’ update certainly added a theatrical chapter to his story, leaving fans intrigued and confused. As the heavyweight division progresses and Jones prepares for his comeback, the anticipation builds, leaving fans awaiting his next move! Do you think we’ll see a title unification bout between Jones and Aspinall soon? Share your thoughts in the comments below!