He was one of the breakout stars during the 2008 season of M-1 Challenge. However, 2009 got off to a rough start for Team Benelux light heavyweight Jason Jones.
After going 3-2 during M-1 competition last year including a win over Team Imperial’s Dmitry Samoilov during the 2008 finals, Jones lost a unanimous decision to Finland’s Marcus Vanttinen during the 2009 season opener of the “M-1 Challenge Presented by Affliction.”
It was a disappointing night not just for Jones, but all of Team Benelux, as they lost to Finland by a combined score of 4-1 following a 2008 campaign that saw them make it to the finals vs. Team Imperial. But with heavyweight standout Jessie Gibbs back on the squad, Jones and company are looking for revenge this Saturday in Sao Paulo, Brazil against Bulgaria during the fourth edition of the M-1 Challenge.
Jones is set to fight Bulgarian light heavyweight Emil Zaharev, a newcomer to the M-1 Challenge. Zaharev earned a spot on the roster due to his impressive 3-0-1 record accumulate during competition in the Bulgarian MMA Federation. In his last bout on Feb. 15, Zaharev recorded a unanimous decision victory over Nikolva Ivanov.
Never one to hold back his true feelings, Jones is promising in a new video interview to “[expletive] up my opponent in Brazil” in hopes of moving on to bigger fights, possibly even a co-promoted event involving M-1 and Affliction.
Jones also made national headlines in the U.S. in December of 2007 when he defeated the then-unbeaten Melvin Costa via a first round submission during a King of the Cage event. At the time, Costa had generated a great deal of controversy in the MMA media for his standing as a white nationalist.
