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Marcus Jones. Photo: marcusjonesmma.com
Fighters almost never retire. They're retired. As in, forced out because their services are no longer wanted or needed by promoters, or, even worse, their health makes them too much of a liability risk for any athletic commission to grant them a license.
Whether it's financial need or a burning desire to still challenge themselves athletically, fighters, perhaps more than athletes in non-combat sports, have a difficult time walking away on their own terms. Maybe that's why the reports coming from Gracie Tampa that Marcus Jones has retired from MMA have been met with reactions ranging from shock to disappointment to outright disgust (“quitter” was a common slur directed at Jones on various message boards and blogs). If true, though, then Jones has made the right decision.
During a season of The Ultimate Fighter that saw Youtube streetfighting sensation Kimbo Slice promoted as the star of the cast, Jones, a 7 year NFL veteran, emerged as one of the most popular and entertaining personalities on the show. A gentle giant nicknamed “Big Baby” by opposing team coach Rashad Evans, Jones impressed even UFC president Dana White with his fighting skills. The sight of a 6'6” 262 pound titan giggling like a giddy child after learning a new move in practice brought joy to the hearts of MMA fans everywhere, as did his candor in comparing his two sports careers. As he struggled to complete the first day of workouts at the UFC training center, Jones declared MMA training to be tougher than anything he ever experienced in the NFL, and he later confessed that he played football because he was blessed with the ability to it professionally, but that he never loved the sport the way he loves MMA.
After two impressive victories, he was knocked out by Brendan Schaub in the semi-finals of the show. The loss was Jones' second via knockout and he said afterward that he would probably retire because he couldn't subject his wife to another, but he fought again at the Ultimate Fighter finale, suffering his third knockout loss, this time to Matt Mitrione.
While fans attributed both televised knockout losses to poor striking skills, it was alarming to see how vulnerable Jones looked when trading punches. Better training might have improved his punching technique, but his inability to take a punch to the face without collapsing was something that no amount of training would ever improve. After seven years of hard hits in the NFL and two years of MMA fighting, Jones' decision to retire was a wise one.
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