Marcus Edward Jones (born August 15, 1973) is an American former mixed martial artist fighter and former college and professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

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 American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for seven seasons. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. 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 draft was held April 20–21, 1996, at the Paramount ...

, he played professional football for the NFL's

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. After retiring from the NFL, he became a mixed martial arts fighter, and was a cast member of SpikeTV's '' The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights''.

Early years

Jones was born in

Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the 14th-largest city in North Carolina. Jacksonville is the county seat and most populous commun ...

.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 to attend the

, 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 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...

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 All-American in 1995.

Professional football

The

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

, and 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 metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, 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 th ...

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 ''The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights'' is the tenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. In a press conference following ''UFC 98'', Dana White announced that filming ...

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. Jones returned for the finale to square off against

Matt Mitrione Matthew Steven Mitrione (born July 15, 1978) is an American 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 ...

, where Jones suffered another ko 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

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

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, 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, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...

, 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 ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, 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. The city'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 ...

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, 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

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, United States ,

References

External links

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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 sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople