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Amidst the chaos of UFC 297, some headlines flew under the radar. We will cover some of them in this edition of the MMA Hangover, beginning with some rather outlandish claims from Jon Jones’ younger brother, NFL defensive end Chandler Jones.
UFC champ’s brother denies the existence of CTE
The younger Jones was a guest on the Jaxxon podcast hosted by former UFC light heavyweight champion/confessed flat-earther Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson. Here, he categorically denied the existence of a condition that affected 92% of his deceased peers.
“I don’t know the other two words in the acronym CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), but I know the T stands for trauma. And I know it’s not blunt force trauma. I know it doesn’t also mean that you got hit in the head too many times. It doesn’t mean that.
“CTE is not real. I don’t believe it’s real.”
This is the part where things took a bizarre left turn.
“The T in trauma could be being molested as a kid, from things that you went through from high school. And that could be mental trauma, emotional trauma, but not blunt force… got punched in the head, too many tackles…
“There’s ways that the media, they put out what Donald Trump says, fake news. There’s ways that people put out fake news and say, ‘Let’s scare this group of people. Let’s scare these athletes.’”
The 33-year-old Jones, who last played for the Las Vegas Raiders, also blamed CTE for changing his approach to the game. From there, he then made a bold prediction.
“Before I got out of the NFL… when I heard CTE, they had me tackling (timidly). Before I heard the word CTE, I was banging.
“Mark my words: in 2050, there would be no NFL. It’s getting too soft.”
Just a refresher: this is the same Chandler Jones who was arrested in September after making some outrageous claims on social media regarding the death of his former teammate Aaron Hernandez.
Some of his journal entries at the time also emerged where he claimed to have been forcibly taken into a medical facility.
So, at this point, such statements are par for the course when dealing with Chandler Jones. Here’s the clip in question.
In Other News
Frankie Edgar joins the 2024 Hall of Fame Class
For vertically challenged folks like myself, Frankie Edgar was a hero. Seeing him get the best of his towering opponents at 155 pounds and eventually get to the top of that mountain was a delight.
But the last few years of his career have become more heartbreaking to watch. Those highlight reel losses to Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera alone were forgettable for any Frankie Edgar fan, and there was a collective sigh of relief when he decided to hang it up in 2022 after yet another disappointing loss to Chris Gutierrez at UFC 181.
It’s tough not to give the man his props, and the organization did right by him through his induction into the 2024 Hall of Fame class. The announcement became a special part of Saturday’s UFC 297 festivities, where ‘The Answer’ was in attendance.
Former UFC lightweight champion. Eight-time Fight of the Night winner. A fighter’s fighter and an unquestionably deserved induction.
Fighters’ Words
‘Chito’ gives his props to the man whom he turned into a meme back in 2021.
Since it doesn’t look like he’s fighting anytime soon, the UFC’s biggest star slightly shifted his focus.
Newly-minted champion Dricus du Plessis already plans a quick turnaround.
In Case You Missed It
Conor McGregor is NOT returning in June. Contrary to his previous declaration, Conor McGregor isn’t returning anytime soon, according to his boss, UFC CEO Dana White. (link)
New lawsuit documents revealed. Bloody Elbow continues to unearth some documents from the UFC lawsuit, this time concerning supposed special clauses for superstars Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey. (link)
MMA fighter Ryan Curtis needs our help. Dublin-based MMA fighter Ryan Curtis suffered serious injuries to his neck, back, and spine during training, sending him to the hospital, where he is still recovering. Fellow fighters have set up a GoFundMe page to help shoulder the expenses (link).
Hangover Cure
I grew up in the 90s, a time that held the last remnants of the ‘old world,’ if you may. Ideologies were way different, a lot of which wouldn’t fly in this day and age.
And then, there were the cartoons. It provided a twisted sense of reality that, for better or worse, propelled the imagination of impressionable minds. In this regard, you can say they don’t make them like they used to anymore.
But thankfully, social media is the ultimate nostalgia receptacle, where these all-time favorites have been immortalized.
You’ll find a lot of these rabbit holes everywhere. But if you’re looking for something to binge on for those nights of herbal inebriation, YouTube has these 12-hour marathons for you to indulge in.
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