UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is a large, scary man.
At 6'4", 205 pounds of lean muscle trained in the art of destruction, Jones stands as an intimidating figure in any setting.
That is, unless his brother, Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman Arthur Jones, is also in the room.
Then things change.
If Jon Jones is a Ford F-350, Arthur Jones is an International semi, equaling Jon's height but clocking in at 315 pounds of power and muscle. Arthur is enormous, and while he makes his living on the gridiron, he once considered a career inside the cage, according to MMAJunkie's John Morgan (h/t Indianapolis Star).
"I was supposed to take a fight when we had the lockout a few years ago (in 2011)," Jones said. "I was getting ready to schedule it, and I was training for it. Thank God for the other guy the lockout ended."
While the last sentence of Jones' comment may come off as a bit arrogant or lighthearted, it's probably 100 percent true.
Love this...Arthur Jones always competing w his brothers: "I was the brokest Jones. Now, I'm the richest one http://t.co/lkou8rQYXt #Colts
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) March 14, 2014
Jones is not just a large dude who happened to work hard and make an NFL roster, nor is he a guy who remains in the headlines due to his siblings' success (his younger brother, Chandler Jones, plays for the New England Patriots).
Arthur, like his brothers, is an athletic freak. He claims that he would easily defeat either of his brothers in a fight, and as a two-time New York state wrestling champion in the heavyweight division who works at the lauded Jackson-Winkeljohn camp in New Mexico during the NFL offseason, the notion of Jones competing in MMA is not a stretch from an athletic standpoint.
"I was a really good wrestler, so that was my base, but I do a lot of boxing in my off-season training," Arthur said in Morgan's piece. "I train at Greg Jackson’s pretty much every off-season."
He does weigh 315 pounds, however, and that's a problem.
None of the sport's major organizations have a super heavyweight division, and Arthur would definitely struggle to make the 265-pound heavyweight limit. By "struggle," I mean he would have to cut off an arm. It just isn't happening.
Chandler and Arthur Jones just passed by in halls. Arthur Jones=super heavyweight.
— Steven Marrocco (@MMAjunkieSteven) April 27, 2014
Still, this is a fun story, and the idea of a 315-pound version of Jon Jones competing inside the cage is both terrifying and spectacular. With legitimate combat training and freakish athletic gifts, there's no telling where Arthur could go in the sport if he could get his weight down and ease into the heavyweight division.
Unfortunately for fight fans, he's enjoying a successful career in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens and emerging as one of the finest all-around defensive linemen in the game today.
For now, Jon can remain the biggest, baddest Jones brother on the UFC roster.
