Marcus Edward Jones (born August 15, 1973) is an American former

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

fighter and former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for seven seasons. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

, earning consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 1995. A first-round pick in the

1996 NFL draft The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 20–21, 1996 NFL seas ...

, he played professional football for the NFL's

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. After retiring from the NFL, he became a mixed martial arts fighter, and was a cast member of

SpikeTV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are located a ...

's '' The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights''.

Early life

Jones was born in

Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 14th-most populous city in North Caroli ...

.National Football League, Historical Players
Marcus Jones
Retrieved February 4, 2012. He attended Southwest Onslow High School in Jacksonville,databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved February 4, 2012. and played high school football for the Southwest Stallions. Jones accepted an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

to attend the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

, where he played for the

North Carolina Tar Heels football The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the sport of American football or gridiron football. The Tar Heels play in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subd ...

team from 1992 to 1995. He set the Tar Heels' career sack record (subsequently broken by Greg Ellis), and was recognized as a consensus first-team

in 1995.

Professional career

The

selected in the first round (22nd overall) of the

. He played for the Buccaneers from to . Jones played his entire active professional career with the Buccaneers, playing in 85 games, starting 39 of them, and recording 24 sacks.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Marcus Jones
Retrieved February 4, 2012. He was released by the Buccaneers in October 2002. He was signed by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, but was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

and was waived after suffering a knee injury.

Mixed martial arts career

Jones trained under Rob Kahn in Gracie Tampa in Tampa, Florida. He 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, and defeated him 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 appear on the tenth season of ''The Ultimate Fighter''.

''The Ultimate Fighter''

Jones was a competitor on ''

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

'' 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 led 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 Michael Wade Wessel (born December 2, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist who last competed in 2016. A professional competitor since 2007, Wessel formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator, and was a contestant on ' ...

, 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 Brendan Peter Schaub (born March 18, 1983) is an American podcast host, former professional mixed martial artist, and stand-up comedian. He is the host of '' The Fighter and the Kid'' podcast, the ''Below the Belt with Brendan Schaub'' podcast ...

by KO in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championships

For his official UFC debut, Jones returned for the finale to square off against

Matt Mitrione Matt Mitrione (born July 15, 1978) is an American retired mixed martial artist and former American football player, who competed for both the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and most recently for Bellator MMA. Prior to embarking on an MMA c ...

, where Jones suffered another knockout in the second round. After this fight, he decided to retire from MMA so he could spend more time with his family.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 ,

, KO (punch) , The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:10 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , John Juarez , TKO (punches) , XCF 1: Rumble in Racetown , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:39 ,

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona� ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Mike Ottman , TKO (punches) , Revolution Fight Club 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:24 ,

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , Daniel Perez , KO (punches) , WFC 6: Battle in the Bay , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:26 ,

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Eduardo Boza , TKO (punches) , Revolution Fight Club 10: Bad Blood , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:32 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Will Mora , Submission (kimura) , World Fighting Championships 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:02 ,

, United States ,

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

, - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 ,

, KO (punches) , rowspan=3, The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:11 , rowspan=3,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Darrill Schoonover , KO (punches) , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 ,

, Submission (armbar) , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

References

External links

* *
Pro-Football-Reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Marcus 1973 births Living people African-American mixed martial artists All-American college football players American football defensive ends American male mixed martial artists Buffalo Bills players Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from North Carolina North Carolina Tar Heels football players People from Jacksonville, North Carolina Tampa Bay Buccaneers players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen