Jon Jones and Bros. Genetic Heritage

I'm writing something, and I would be very grateful if someone could point me to the right information and sources.

As far as I know, Jon Jones' parents are a pastor and a nurse. Were any members of the previous generation of the Jones family athletes? It's quite improbable that one family can produce one dominant UFC Champion (a GOAT Candidate at that), and two NFL players. If you could suggest other examples of athlete families, that would also be very welcome.

And it's scary to consider that Jones was probably the black sheep of the family, the least gifted of his brothers in "pure athleticism" (to the extent that's a useful term at all to describe raw speed, agility, strength, endurance, co-ordination, etc).

Just for laughs, here's the famous clip of Jon Jones getting plonked on the head by a basketball that he himself tried and failed to dunk.

And again in jest, "Bones" was probably a diss for that gangly and awkward kid (at least compared to his brothers).

So the only point of your thread is to ask the question "Were any members of the previous generation of the Jones family athletes?" You made a thread to ask that?

You say "It's quite improbable that one family can produce one dominant UFC Champion (a GOAT Candidate at that), and two NFL players." Why do you think so?

Troll thread, troll account.
 
So the only point of your thread is to ask the question "Were any members of the previous generation of the Jones family athletes?" You made a thread to ask that?

You say "It's quite improbable that one family can produce one dominant UFC Champion (a GOAT Candidate at that), and two NFL players." Why do you think so?

Troll thread, troll account.

I'm not trolling:

- What's so surprising about asking about a fighter's background? This is Sherdog, not an academic conference. I saw a thread just now where everyone was commenting on how Jon Jones dressed like a girl when he wore spandex leggings. How is this thread any worse?

- All I meant was if all the brothers are national level athletes, I wouldn't be surprised if they came from a family of athletes. I'm just curious as to who these other athletes are. E.g. If someone told me 3 sisters (e.g. the Polgars) all rose to the top in chess, I'd also be interested in their background.

- If I were trolling, I wouldn't say JJ is GOAT Candidate. And if you would bother to actually read the thread, I also say one of his greatest gifts is his natural ability to understand technique. Please don't throw around empty accusations.
 
I get the feeling that Jones never really had much of an interest in those sports. He liked wrestling so he excelled in it. I think he liked the challenge of it.

Football, basketball are not everything just because those are popular pro sports that pay a lot of money.
 
jones does not have the bone structure or frame to be in nfl .... and there are alot of brothers that play together in top level sports ......

that beings said ... hes more rangy than most nfl players and he would elbow them with ease
 
This video is misleading. Jones is jumping off the wrong foot. I'll bet he can dunk with ease. He's 6'4" and has the longest reach in the UFC. A longer reach than Stefan Struve. There is some fukkery with this video. I would guess that they are trying to convince people that Jones is a good fighter without his "Black" physiological advantages. Hell, I'm a 5'10" white guy with a few extra pounds and I can touch the rim. Jon Jones can surely dunk a basketball.

Youd be surprised. Maybe he coulf with some footwork training. But that video looked real to me. I know plenty of athletes that are 6'4" and struggle with dunking. Many require a running start

Some ppl can do it easily. I could dunk pretty easily since 13. If you cant dunk at 6'4", it doesnt mean youre not a great athlete.

And there's a big difference between grabbing rim and dunking
 
Genetics play an enormous role in natural athletic ability, this is obvious. What is this paper for?

A quick google search shows tons of pro-athlete families. I think the GOAT are the Mannings (apparently the youngest brother was an NFL talent too before his injury).
 
How are those 2 things in any way connected? I'm sure he has played basketball but not everyone who played basketball as a kid can dunk. MMA fighters aren't necessarily fast runners or high jumpers and they don't need to be. A lot of them are not naturally athletic at all.

Chuck is only 2 inches shorter and I'd be very surprised if he could dunk. Rampage is also only a few inches shorter and they showed on TUF that he couldn't dunk. Hell, I really doubt Tim Sylvia could dunk a basketball either.

I'm not saying you're wrong about those guys, but people may be surprised at athletic ability (looks aren't everything). I will see if I can find it, but I saw a video the other day of a recently drafted NFL offensive lineman (300 lbs +, about 6'2" I think, white guy for those who care) dunk FROM A STAND STILL POSITION. He did it easily too.

I bet there are some guys in the UFC that would surprise people with their athletic ability.
 
Basketball is during wrestling season. Wrestling is big in his family.

Jones doesn't know how to attack the basket. If he practiced for like a week, or longer, he would probably be dunking. He just has absolutely no basketball instincts.

nailed it right there. plus isn't upstate new york a bunch of rednecks (including jones with his big truck etc.)?
 
Genetics play an enormous role in natural athletic ability, this is obvious. What is this paper for?

A quick google search shows tons of pro-athlete families. I think the GOAT are the Mannings (apparently the youngest brother was an NFL talent too before his injury).

Just a draft article for a local paper, thanks for the Manning reference. I'm from China and openly discussing race/genetics/athleticism isn't taboo at all, it's government policy. There are actually public statements about investment in Olympic sports to the effect of "Chinese athletes have no advantage in sprinting, but we can compete in Pingpong".

And also vaguely JJ related trivia ... in China, kids get cut from boxing training if their reach is too short. Source: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/02/04/080204fa_fact_osnos?currentPage=all (Ctrl + F "reach")
 
When is Sherdog gonna understand that John Jones is not explosive. He doesnt have a fast twitch muscle fiber in his body.

This is why he cant dunk and why he's lucky if he can run a 5.0 sec 40 yd dash.

The guy is a technician who executes the best coach in the game's strategy perfectly.

The guy has no hand speed, no punching power. He has very technical wrestling, nasty elbows due to his freakish long arms and kicks people in the knees.

How many punch KO's does Jones have in the UFC...zero.

If you are 4-5 inches taller than everyone you fight and cant knock anyone out, you do not have explosive power.

Imagine if Johnny Hendrick got to fight only guys who are 5'4. The guy would have a one punch KO in every fight.
 
my dad is 5'11 my mom is 6'

My brother is 6'7 and im 6 foot 8 inches tall

Really don't think it matters as far as past genetics are concerned
 
I'm writing something, and I would be very grateful if someone could point me to the right information and sources.

As far as I know, Jon Jones' parents are a pastor and a nurse. Were any members of the previous generation of the Jones family athletes? It's quite improbable that one family can produce one dominant UFC Champion (a GOAT Candidate at that), and two NFL players. If you could suggest other examples of athlete families, that would also be very welcome.

And it's scary to consider that Jones was probably the black sheep of the family, the least gifted of his brothers in "pure athleticism" (to the extent that's a useful term at all to describe raw speed, agility, strength, endurance, co-ordination, etc).

Just for laughs, here's the famous clip of Jon Jones getting plonked on the head by a basketball that he himself tried and failed to dunk.



And again in jest, "Bones" was probably a diss for that gangly and awkward kid (at least compared to his brothers).


shows how much better NFL athletes are. johnny manziel can do a 360 dunk
 
The muscle fibers that develop for endurance are different from those which are used when you train for explosive brief movements.
 
If anyone really wants to understand this, read into fast twitch vs slow twitch muscle fibers. Genetically, we may have more of one than the other, but that DOES change with training. Which is a fairly new understanding, as people used to believe that you had one type or the other and that's it.

Jones could make the run up to dunk all day long without getting tired, but a great NBA player would be fatigued after a few hours. That's the big difference here. Jones would be able to run and jump when the NBA guy is so tired he has to sit down.

Not defending Jones, I'm not a fan.
 
yeah saw that vid before as well and was surprised to see how awkward he looked with the ball. he can grab rim pretty easy without it. this was couple yrs ago and he was like what early 20s, solid 6'4 with wingspan of someone close to 7 ft, pro athlete in top shape ("athletic and explosive") yet not even close to dunking...

these days there are some 5'10 high school kids (black, white or Asian) that can throw it down with a running start.

There is some technique to jumping correctly and dunking a ball. You have to actually practice it a little unless you have insane hops or height. Like you said, he can jump high enough to grab the rim, but I'm sure he can actually jump high enough to dunk as well. Also, Jones just doesn't strike me as the guy who ever really cared about basketball.
 
If anyone really wants to understand this, read into fast twitch vs slow twitch muscle fibers. Genetically, we may have more of one than the other, but that DOES change with training. Which is a fairly new understanding, as people used to believe that you had one type or the other and that's it.

Jones could make the run up to dunk all day long without getting tired, but a great NBA player would be fatigued after a few hours. That's the big difference here. Jones would be able to run and jump when the NBA guy is so tired he has to sit down.

Not defending Jones, I'm not a fan.
you can't change your muscle type fibers in a relevent amount and you can't change the numbers of your muscle fibers.
source: my physiology book.

and muscle fibers alone don't make a great athlete, there are a tons of other qualities.

Jone Jones is the more genetically gifted fighters then his two brothers and the whole NFL.
the guy is the biggest talent we have ever seen in mma.
 
I went to highschool with 2 brothers that play in the nfl. One scored a td for new orleans in the super bowl.

Family dominace is more common than you think
 
When is Sherdog gonna understand that John Jones is not explosive. He doesnt have a fast twitch muscle fiber in his body.

This is why he cant dunk and why he's lucky if he can run a 5.0 sec 40 yd dash.

The guy is a technician who executes the best coach in the game's strategy perfectly.

The guy has no hand speed, no punching power. He has very technical wrestling, nasty elbows due to his freakish long arms and kicks people in the knees.

How many punch KO's does Jones have in the UFC...zero.

If you are 4-5 inches taller than everyone you fight and cant knock anyone out, you do not have explosive power.

Imagine if Johnny Hendrick got to fight only guys who are 5'4. The guy would have a one punch KO in every fight.

Lmao at thinking Jones cant dunk. Jones is clumsy when it comes to basketball, that's the main issue. He doesn't even know the right leg to jump off or run up correctly.

Jones jumps just fine
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No speed?

Switching stance and being able to land that knee in a split second
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Quickly recovers to defend a takedown
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Beating Machida to the punch
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Jones is just as fast if not more than most at LHW.
 
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