Jon Jones is coming back, but which version should we expect?

Jon Jones

Have you seen that video of Jon Jones dancing to celebrate his reinstatement by the UFC? It’s out there on the Internet, thanks to those diligent hunters who capture his social-media moves before the former UFC light-heavyweight champion can delete them, as he loves to do for reasons all his own.

In the video, Jones (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) is grooving to some Ma$e, demonstrating once and for all that he’s a much better fighter than dancer, wearing a smile on his face that suggests he already knows how exhaustively we in the MMA bubble will pick this apart, and it brings him nothing but joy.

That’s the new Jon Jones, the post-suspension one, the guy whose own misdeeds caused him to be stripped of the title that no fighter could take from him. It just so happens that he looks, from afar, nearly identical to the pre-suspension version.

That makes you wonder. I mean, how could it not?

The big question about Jones’ impending return to the octagon isn’t so much when and where, but who? Which Jones is coming back, now that his legal troubles are settled and the UFC has deemed him fit for action?

Is it the humbled ex-champ who pops up now and then in news reports or stories from teammates, either sweeping the mats at the gym or helping local kids learn the integral values of martial arts? When fight night rolls around, will he stop on his way to the venue to deliver toys to an orphanage? Will his afterparty take place at a homeless shelter, just so he can dish out soup to the hungry?

Jon Jones

Or is it going to be the same old Jones, Mr. Tweet-and-Delete? Is he going to show up with that ain’t-I-a-stinker grin when he comes to reclaim his title, playing it like he’s been called a phony so many times that he might as well give in and have some fun with it?

Then there’s also the question of what he’ll look like in the cage after his time away. If there’s one guy who could claim that ring rust won’t affect him and then actually make us believe it, it’s probably Jones. Then again, if there’s one guy who might lapse right back into the lifestyle that got him in trouble to begin with, it’s also Jones.

That’s why we can’t resist the urge to parse his social media presence for signs of his current psychological state. On Twitter and Instagram, he seems to be the exact same guy. But that guy seemed to be on a troubling trajectory, and in need of major change. Is it possible he made that change in the ways that matter, and kept only the online persona? Can you change your life and still troll on Twitter?

These are the questions we can’t answer, yet also can’t – or won’t – stop asking. It’s another piece of the Jones enigma. The boy genius who learned to strike from watching YouTube videos and then replicating the moves on seasoned pros is now the unknowable great who seems like he can do anything but stop being himself.

Can he do that, and still be OK? Is he just having too much fun keeping us guessing to ever stop?

Once we finally see him in the cage, we may get some answers. Just don’t be surprised if they lead to more questions.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.