Rogan: Did head trauma contribute to Jones’ behavior?

On his latest JRE podcast, UFC commentator Joe Rogan expressed incredible disappointment in former UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones, and wondered if head trauma could play a role in what he termed Jones’ lack of ‘impulse control.’

“Jon Jones is likely going to jail,” said Rogan as transcribed by David St. Martin for MMAFighting.com. “Hit and run. Crashed into a pregnant woman, allegedly, I should say. Broke her arm. She was rushed to the hospital, but pregnant, which has got to be terrifying for her. To be in a car crash and smashed by a guy who runs a red light and then flees the scene of the crime.”

“He disappeared, for like 24 hours at least. Probably even more. A couple days, I think he disappeared for. Obviously, the speculation would be that he was on something that he would worried about being tested for for 24 hours or 48 hours or whatever it was.”

“I am, without a doubt, not trying to let him off the hook. What he did was horrible. If it was someone in my family that he hit with that car I would be unbelievably furious. I’m incredibly disappointed in him. I think the UFC absolutely did the right thing in stripping him of his title. I think law enforcement is going to do the right thing by putting him in jail. They’re going to. You can’t do that.

“You can’t hit someone with a car and leave the scene of the crime. It is a crime, but there are things that people do because they have brain damage. That’s where the real question comes up. Obviously they’re responsible ultimately for their own actions, but what is it that’s responsible for making them do that action?”

“If the brain is getting damaged and if we have proven that some of the issues with people that have brain damage is impulse control you’ve got to wonder when you see fighters do wild, crazy s—, how much of that is due to getting bonked in the f—ing head all the time?”