Jon Jones has proved he’s not very good at basketball.
Jones was spotted at a New York Knicks vs Utah Jazz NBA match on Thursday, where he took to court before the game.
The UFC champion was given the chance to take four three-point shots and probably regretted saying yes to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
‘Bones’ returned to his beloved sport, MMA, in March 2023 after an injury-ridden, three-year hiatus.
He submitted Ciryl Gane in his first fight in the heavyweight division at UFC 285 before defending the belt against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November.
Knicks star, Josh Hart, who was present at the game and proceeded to score 15 points, was forced to give the 37-year-old some advice as he failed to find the hoop with any of his pre-match shots.
“You gotta hit the rim,” he said as Jones’ left hand shots went embarrassingly wide.
Hart was selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft as the 30th overall pick by the Utah Jazz before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
He then went on to play for the New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers and the Knicks.
Fans were quick to the scene with their reactions to Jones’ horrific basketball skills.
UFC play-by-play commentator on UFC Fight Pass Ben Davis, who originally shared the video, wrote on X: “Jon Jones better stick to MMA.”
While another added: “OK that’s humiliating on every level. I don’t even know what to say, lost so much respect for him.”
A third said: “You’d think after the first 3 airballs he would’ve shot it with more power, I guess he is consistent though.”
While a fourth added: ”It is wild this man could legit beat pretty much everyone in history but he can’t even hit the rim on a three.”
And a fifth responded: ”This is my big argument on the definition of ‘athlete’. He’s physically an athlete, obviously, but that coordination isn’t even close to ‘average’. He can fight unbelievably but couldn’t even be decent in a church league in anything else. Is that a real athlete?”
Jones is the current UFC heavyweight champion, with Britain’s 31-year-old Tom Aspinall the interim representative.
Aspinall fought his way to interim status when Jones was out injured and claimed the belt after knocking out Sergei Pavlovich in the first round of their fight at UFC 295.
He then went on to exact revenge against Curtis Blaydes – who he tore his MCL against in July 2022 – by winning via the same method at UFC Manchester in July.
UFC President Dana White made a rare guarantee that Jones will fight Aspinall for the heavyweight title in 2025.
“I think it’s probably the biggest fight in heavyweight history,” White said.
“And it’s a massive fight in the history of the company, too. It’s a big fight.”
White was then pressed by a journalist if he can 100% guarantee that the pair will meet in 2025.
His response: “Yeah. I’ll say 100%.”
Michael Bisping, who is a pioneer of British MMA, has predicted that Aspinall will be the UFC heavyweight champion by the end of 2025.
