MMA is, in many ways, a collection of misfits. Listen to fighters tell their personal stories for long enough, and the narrative will often revert to one of street fighting, out of control behavior, and general directionlessness—from which mixed martial arts has provided a necessary structure and relief. As the world’s largest MMA promotion, the UFC has a claim to also housing one of the world’s largest collections of misfit athletes.
Few are more publicly plagued by their out-of-the-cage behavior as light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. His actions over the last near-decade have been put him under the microscope, following a series of driving-related incidents, drug test failures, and even allegations of battery against a cocktail waitress—for which he later plead ‘no contest’ to disorderly conduct.