Marcus Jones (athlete)

Marcus Jones
Born	August 15, 1973 (1973-08-15) (age 38) Jacksonville, North Carolina, U.S.
Other names	The Darkness, Big Baby
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight	262 lb (119 kg; 18.7 st)
Division	265
Reach	80.0 in (203 cm)
Style	Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Fighting out of	Tampa, Florida
Team	Gracie Tampa
Years active	2007–2009
Mixed martial arts record
Total	6
Wins	4
By knockout	3
By submission	1
Losses	2
Draws	0
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Marcus Jones (athlete)

Position(s) Defensive end Jersey #(s) 78
Born	August 15, 1973 (1973-08-15) (age 38) Jacksonville, North Carolina
Career information
Year(s)	1996–2002
NFL Draft	1996 / Round: 1 / Pick: 22
College	North Carolina
Professional teams
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996–2002)
Career stats
Tackles	124
Sacks	24
Fumble recoveries	4
Stats at NFL.com
Career highlights and awards
N/A

Marcus Edward Jones (born August 15, 1973) is an American former mixed martial artist and a former National Football League defensive end. He was a cast member of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.

During The Ultimate Fighter, Jones was shown to be a particularly emotional and sensitive individual, earning himself the nickname "Big Baby"—a nickname that he does not desire.^[1] On episode 3 of the Ultimate Fighter, Jones had stated that he had been passionate about Dungeons & Dragons, comic books and was an avid flower gardener.

Jones has also made appearances on the "Bubba the Love Sponge Show" on Howard 101 of the Sirius Satellite Radio Network, as well as "Talking Sports with Randy Harris".

Football career

Jones played for Southwest High School in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Jones played college football for the University of North Carolina. He held the career sack record when he left, though it was soon broken by Greg Ellis. He was drafted into the National Football League by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft. Jones played his entire seven-year professional football career with the Buccaneers, recording 24 sacks. He was released by the Buccaneers in October 2002. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills but was placed on injured reserve and was waived after suffering a knee injury.^[2]

Mixed martial arts career

Jones currently trains under Rob Kahn in Gracie Tampa in Tampa, Florida.

Jones made his professional MMA debut on October 26, 2007, in World Fighting Championships 5 with a victory over Will Mora. In his next fight, Jones took on Eduardo Boza. Jones defeated Boza via technical knockout midway through round one.

Jones took his first loss to Daniel Perez. Jones won two fights in a row after the loss before being selected to be on the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

The Ultimate Fighter

Jones was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter which began filming on June 1, 2009 and started airing on September 16, 2009. During pre-selection training, Jones was shown to struggle with a lack of stamina which potentially lead to him being one of the final picks for Team Rampage.

During the competition, Jones suffered through problems in the house, such as a slight knee injury as well as a severe case of sweating, prompting concerns about his availability for the competition. Upon recovery, Jones had his first fight against Team Rashad's Mike Wessel, winning via armbar submission in the first round, making him the only member of Team Rampage to make it past the preliminary rounds. In the quarterfinals, Jones gave Darrill Schoonover his first mixed martial arts defeat by knocking Schoonover out. Jones was defeated in a semifinal bout against Brendan Schaub by KO in the first round. In The Ultimate Fighter Finale he was knocked out by Matt Mitrione 10 seconds into the second round. After this fight, he decided to retire from MMA so he could spend more time with his family.^[3]

Jones appeared as an exclusive character for UFC Undisputed 2010 video game for pre-orders.

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
6 matches	4 wins	2 losses
By knockout	3	2
By submission	1	0
By decision	0	0
Draws	0

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	4-2	Matt Mitrione	KO (Punches)	The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale	02009-12-05 December 5, 2009	2	0:10	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Retired from MMA
Win	4-1	John Juarez	TKO (Punches)	XCF 1: Rumble in Racetown	02009-02-14 February 14, 2009	1	1:39	Daytona Beach, Florida, United States
Win	3-1	Mike Ottman	TKO (Punches)	Revolution Fight Club 2	02008-12-19 December 19, 2008	1	1:24	Miami, Florida, United States
Loss	2-1	Daniel Perez	KO (Punches)	WFC 6: Battle in the Bay	02008-03-22 March 22, 2008	1	1:26	Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	2-0	Eduardo Boza	TKO (Punches)	Revolution Fight Club 10: Bad Blood	02007-11-10 November 10, 2007	1	2:32	Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	1-0	Will Mora	Submission (Kimura)	World Fighting Championships 5	02007-10-26 October 26, 2007	1	1:02	Tampa, Florida, United States

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	2-1	Brendan Schaub	KO (Strikes)	The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights		1		Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Semi-finals
Win	2-0	Darrill Schoonover	KO (Strikes)	The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights		1		Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Quarter-finals
Win	1-0	Mike Wessel	Submission (Armbar)	The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights		1		Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Preliminary bout

External links

• Professional MMA record for Marcus Jones from Sherdog
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

References

1. ^ http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/related/C967/
2. ^ Miller, Chris (November 17, 2003). "Marcus Jones moves past NFL life". enctoday.com. http://www.enctoday.com/articles/jones-2484-football-team.html. Retrieved 2010-11-03. 
3. ^ "Marcus Jones retires from MMA". aroundtheoctagon.com. http://www.aroundtheoctagon.com/?p=2981. Retrieved March 3, 2010.