Jon Jones has done plenty of online talking in his UFC career, so he’s likely familiar with the term of what may be happening to him these days.
The TikTok elite simply call it “FAFO,” but “F*ck Around and Find Out” has been one of the most on fleek colloquialisms of Jones’ career, and the former fighter might just be living it now.
His harshest critics would no doubt say Jones did the first half of that slang term by ducking a fight against Tom Aspinall for months before he ultimately vacated the heavyweight title and said he was retired. Now that he wants back into the spotlight, and it’s shining elsewhere, it could be argued he’s experiencing the latter half of the saying.
Two weeks after he said he was quitting, Jones walked back the retirement and said he was back to training. Once the UFC’s plans for an event at the White House were announced, Jones started pitching himself for a spot on the card.
But UFC CEO Dana White has been adamant that he doesn’t trust Jones enough to put him on the show – headlining spots for which will no doubt command hefty paydays. Jones has a well-documented history of legal infractions, drug test failures and other outside-the-cage issues that have led to titles being stripped, suspensions and a general falling out of favor among the promotion’s brass.
After months of saying he wants to fight at the White House in social media posts and in interviews, and White repeatedly saying he’s not interested or declining to take the bait, Jones is trying a new strategy: He’s looking straight in the camera and essentially begging White to take him back.
At Dirty Boxing 4 on Thursday in Nashville, Tenn., Jones shot his shot.
“I really hope it happens,” Jones said on the broadcast stream (H/T Championship Rounds) before crossing his fingers for the camera. “Dana, bro: Please, bro. Please. I’m training. I feel great. I’m healthy, and I would be so honored to represent our country and … and … and do what I do best.”
Suffice it to say, the online comments were a mixed bag. But many also were, appropriately given the subject, “lit af.” Check out Jones’ tip-toeing toward groveling below.
