Chicken legs made MMA a must for Jones

[Clark Kent]

12-05-2009 12:50 PM:Jon Jones may the most humble high level athlete you're ever going to meet. That's until you speak with his older brother Arthur Jones. Arthur, 23, and another Jones brother, Chandler play defensive line at Syracuse. Arthur's career is over now as he looks forward to the NFL draft where Scouts Inc. has him slotted as a top 20 pick. All three lean on each for motivation and a way to stay grounded. It goes back to their football playing days at Union-Endicott High School. The self-deprecating Jon says he could've never played college football:

"If you could zoom in on my chicken legs, that will probably tell you why I ended up fighting," Jon told Adam Hill from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I was really athletic and pretty good as a senior, but it took me a long time to finally get respect on the football field, and it just wasn't my thing. No coaches wanted to scout a guy who looks like a little girl in the lower-body department. I just kept the faith, and I found my niche."

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With his brothers' success at Syracuse, there's little doubt Jon, who walks around in the 215-220 range at 6-foot-4 could've been a fine wideout, safety or linebacker. Arthur is cool with Jon passing on football and admires what he's doing:

"I'm the older brother, but he's my hero," Arthur said. "It's amazing how blessed our family is, and we've just got to keep praying and keep working hard."

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Jon said he admires what Arthur has done:

"Even though I'm the pro, I still look up to (Arthur), and I'm still trying to keep up with him. It's a win-win situation. We both try to feed off of each other. My parents raised us up really right to just appreciate things for what they are and just go with the flow and keep a level head, so I think we're both doing really well with all of that kind of stuff."

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Jones faces veteran Matt Hamill tonight in Las Vegas as the main event of the season 10 "Ultimate Fighter Finale." Arthur will be cageside along with fellow Syracuse football player Donte Davis.

Jones is now working with trainer Greg Jackson down in Albuquerque. He's been an adventurous fighter in the past but its sounds like Jackson influence is already starting to seep in. Jones says you may see a little meat and potatoes in this fight.

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Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield.