Arthur Jones considered MMA during NFL lockout

During the 2011 NFL lockout, Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman Arthur Jones considered etching his name alongside NFL-to-MMA converts Hershel Walker, Brendan Schaub and Marcus Jones.

Jones, the older brother of UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, told The Indianapolis Star (via MMAJunkie) that he planned on making his professional MMA debut in 2011, but the end of the lockout dashed his dreams of in cage glory.

“I love MMA,” Arthur said. “It’s fun to watch, and it’s something I entertained early in my football career if football didn’t work out, of me fighting in the UFC. But things are going well for me right now, so I’m going to stick with my career.

“I was supposed to take a fight when we had the lockout a few years ago. I was getting ready to schedule it, and I was training for it. Thank God for the other guy the lockout ended.”

The 27-year-old New York native wouldn't have been a complete neophyte in the cage, as he was a two-time state wrestling champion in high school and trains with his brother at the famed Jackson-Winklejon gym in New Mexico during the offseason.