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Crime-fighter Jones is UFC’s latest phenom

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By Dann Stupp, Mixed Martial Arts Insider 10:31 PM Sunday, March 20, 2011

NEWARK, N.J. — A few hours before the biggest fight of his career — one that ultimately would make him the youngest champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship history — 23-year-old Jon Jones ventured just outside of Newark, N.J., for some simple meditation.

Instead, Jones and his trainers thwarted a would-be robbery, tackled the suspect to the ground, and kicked off what would become a legendary day in MMA history.

Jones (13-1) defeated UFC light-heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-5) with a vicious third-round knockout at Saturday night’s UFC 128 event at the Prudential Center in Newark.

But Jones, a former criminal justice major, already had made headlines due to his afternoon crime-fighting efforts. He and coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn saw a man break a car window and run off with some loot, and they witnessed the car’s owners giving chase. Jones, a former junior college wrestling champion, easily tracked down the man and subdued him until police arrived.

“(The car’s owners) are like, ‘Oh, it’s so good to see people like you guys here to help me. You cared enough to stop that guy,’ ” Jones said. “The police told her I was fighting and everything that night. She was like, ‘God is going to be with you tonight. You’re going to do good.’

“We all felt like superheroes. I was like, ‘I’ve got to win this fight now. I’ve got the hard work, the dedication, and now I’ve got karma on my side. This is good.’ ”

Jones’ championship victory provided the storybook ending.

UFC president Dana White was thankful for the public-relations coup, but he hopes Jones’ future super-hero antics are reserved for non-event days.

“I’d just like him to stop fighting crime two hours before a fight,” White joked.

Xenia’s Brown booked for UFC event in June

Xenia native Matt Brown (11-10) will meet fellow welterweight Rich Attonito (9-4) on June 26 at UFC on Versus 4. A location and venue have not been announced for the Versus-televised show.

Brown, 30, who now lives and trains in Columbus, surprisingly kept his UFC job after suffering his third consecutive defeat. But UFC officials like his aggressive, crowd-pleasing style and opted to give him one more chance — a luxury most fighters don’t get when on a three-fight skid.

Attonito is a former NCAA Division I wrestler, but he prefers to keep his fights standing. That’s good news for Brown, who’s been submitted in his past three fights.

Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of MMAjunkie.com, voted best media outlet in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 World MMA Awards. For the latest mixed-martial-arts news, go to MMAjunkie.com.

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