Jon Jones back to training, had to clean the mats on the first day

Two months ago, the UFC has stripped their light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones of his title. Since then, arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world has returned to training in his old domain, the Jackson-Winklejohn MMA academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And when he did, he didn't receive a champion's bonus from his coaches, according to training partner Igor Araujo.

"On the first day Jones returned to the gym, they put him to clean the mat when the training session was over," Araujo told MMAFighting.com. "They always pick someone to clean the mat after the training, and he didn't complain he had to do it. He's a nice guy, and I look up to him inside the gym. [...] He trains every day. He's always joking around and laughing. I spoke with him the other day and he's cool, being positive. The coach tells us what to do and he trains normally, every single day. He's in shape, too."

Jones has been stripped and suspended indefinitely by the UFC in April, after he crashed his SUV into a pregnant woman's car and left the scene of the accident, which he will still have to explain himself for in court. Not in his team, though.

"Nobody talks about it," Araujo said. "I think he will get out of this situation. I don't know what the justice is going to decide for his future, but he's a champion. [...] Those in the UFC know that he's the champion, and he will get that belt back," he continued. "The champion is the best. Rafael dos Anjos won the title because he defeated everybody. (Chris) Weidman did the same thing. Jon Jones lost the title to himself. I told him that already. ‘The only man that can beat you is yourself.' We lose to ourselves all the time."

Two weeks ago, Jones returned into the public perception with a picture on Instagram. During his two-month absence from fighting, his manager Malki Kawa indicated, that Jones in unsure, if he will ever return to the sport. Last month however, Carlos Condit, another one of his teammates, assured that he "will be back". That the former champion is now back to regular training, could be a sign, that he is really interested in a UFC return.