15 for 15: No. 15 The year of Jon Jones

Welcome to the annual MMA Payout countdown of MMA business/legal stories for the year.  We start off with the year of Jon Jones.

Jones started off the year with a resounding defeat of rival Daniel Cormier at UFC 182.  It was a big PPV for the company as the promotion for the fight was centered on just Jones-Cormier as opposed to past fight cards where other fights were co-promoted.

The media day brawl in August 2014 really set this fight up as one to watch.  In addition, the promos were great as you might recall they included the Jones-Cormier dustup on ESPN which was off live tv but caught by the cameras.  The UFC hyped the fight with a special entitled, “Bad Blood” which was aired on FS1 and replayed on FX.  There were extensive radio buys and TV commercials for this event.

Notably, it was also the first time that a UFC PPV increased its price for $59.99 HD.

The PPV reportedly drew 800,000 buys which set off what was a big year for PPV for the company.

Shortly thereafter came the revelation that Jones tested positive for cocaine.  He did a rather dramatic interview with Fox Sports 1 to explain himself.  Jones even considered a lawsuit against NSAC for invasion of privacy as a result of the release of the drug test.  For his part, Jones spent just one night in a rehabilitation facility to address his issue of using cocaine.  The UFC fined him $25,000 for violating the UFC Code of Conduct Policy.  As we now know, these deterrents did not help.

In April, Jones was involved in a hit-and-run car accident in Albuquerque as he left the scene in which a pregnant woman was injured.  His notoriety was one of the reasons that he was sought by Albuquerque Police as an off-duty officer at the scene recognized Jones because the officer was a fan of the UFC.  A warrant was issue for his arrest and he voluntarily turned himself in.

Jones’ UFC career hit the bottom.  Reebok terminated his individual sponsorship contract.  According to Darren Rovell, he was the first athlete to lose two shoe/apparel deals within 8 months.  The UFC suspended him indefinitely and stripped him of the UFC Light Heavyweight Title.  Thus, Daniel Cormier won the vacated Light Heavyweight Title at UFC 187 in May.

Sitting on the sidelines, Jones was able to avoid jail time by entering a plea deal this past September. During the time away, Jones did public service which included speaking with young kids.

John Adams MS students paid very close attention, they were even taking notes. Honored to possibly enhance a life pic.twitter.com/jqGXu6dYd6

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) December 2, 2015

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In October, the UFC reinstated Jones as the rehabilitation of his image continues.

We should expect Jones to return sometime in 2016.  Whether it’s at UFC 198 in New York (assuming the event goes forward in the state) or UFC 200 in Las Vegas, the UFC will get one of its top tier fighters back in action.  If UFC 182 was any indication, a rematch with Cormier could be a monster PPV.