It seems that Jon Jones is closing the door on his time at Jackson-Winkeljohn Gym.
Jones has been training with Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn for the vast majority of his MMA career, being a big reason for the notoriety and fame of the gym. However, that all changed after his latest run-in with the law that saw him accused of domestic violence. Winkeljohn then revealed that he made the decision to ban the former light heavyweight champion from the gym until he is sober and able to get his life on track.
It seems that Jones has decided to take this a step further, according to a series of posts he made to his Twitter. Here, he revealed that he was open to exploring other options, in terms of a training environment, and that he made the decision that, no matter what happens, he will not be returning to Jackson-Winkeljohn in the future.
“I definitely wouldn’t mind traveling a little bit and visiting a few places. You guys got any recommendations?” Jones wrote, before adding in subsequent tweets:
“I don’t feel like I carried the team (at Jackson-Wink), we have lots of guys doing amazing things out of that gym. I will admit the program isn’t at the level it used to be, and hasn’t been for a while now.
“definitely won’t be going back but I will continue to root for all the fighters that are training there. I do believe my training methods and sessions have improved significantly since changing environments. Grateful for all the time I got to spend there, everything has its time,” Jones continued.
“I know I won’t be able to train in my garage forever, eventually I’m going to need more training partners. Mainly wrestling partners and kickboxers. I’m on the lookout for teams that I’ll be able to visit and come train with, maybe get some sparring sessions in.”
This is a massive decision for Jon Jones to make, considering the length of time he spent at this gym. That said, there are some who have felt that while Jackson-Winkeljohn may have helped make Jones one of the greatest of all time, they stifled his creativity and growth along the way.
While that assessment may not be the most accurate, few can argue with the idea that Jones will almost certainly benefit from a change in training environment. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here.