BREAKING: Invicta-Signee River "Ruckus" Jones Injured, Retiring From Competitive MMA
Posted on November 20, 2013 by Cole Vick
In truly heartbreaking news, River Jones has announced via her Facebook page that a hip injury will force her to retire from MMA.
From October of 2009 until April 14th, 2012, River Jones went
7-0 as an amateur and was considered one of the top Bantamweight prospects in the United States.
River Jones is the epitome of a strong person, working hard every day without fail to attain the dream of being a professional fighter. In River’s own words. -"Athletes build success on advantages & in MMA, one of those advantages means keeping quiet about injuries so that you don’t inadvertently give an opponent extra advantages.
Consequently, I have been quiet about the nature & severity of my injury."
River wrote on how the injury happened. -"The long & short of what has taken place for me is that I over-trained a potentially pre-disposed hip into a state of unrelenting horrible pain. I couldn’t walk, sleep, sit, stand, or shift my car without causing an eye-watering pain deep in my hip. At its worst, the left side of my back seized up, my quad seized up & was pulled inward, & my calf seized up."
Athletes are never perfect. They get injured often because Mixed Martial Arts is a grueling combat sport. River spoke on working through pain:
-"I have done my best to work around this injury & ultimately that has what caused it to linger & cause continuous pain & limited mobility. After signing on the dotted line with Invicta, I felt pressured to maintain as much training as I could bear, which didn’t work out: I had to withdraw from my scheduled bout with Invicta when walking became difficult & excruciating. I took 2 weeks off from everything. I had already quit lifting weights with my lower body. I hadn’t wrestled or done Jui-Jitsu in months. I couldn’t run. I couldn’t use the elliptical. I could barely walk my dog without limping."
River’s life has been full of pain since January. She has endured the pain for almost a whole year.
-"Every week I go to the doctor & do my rehab & focus all my energy into trying to get better while also going into the gym as much as possible out of fear of losing ground in my development & missing my chance to fight for Invicta. And each time I stepped foot in the gym I left in a little more pain, but I kept telling myself, “It’s only a 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 out of 10 so it’s not that bad.”
Sad to say, things did not improve. -"Last week the reality of my situation came crashing down around me: my hip was put in a bad position during wresting & I spent that night hopping around my house because my hip couldn’t bear any weight.
The most difficult part of my injury is that the worst of it usually subsides (not always) within a few days & so I keep making excuses & feel like anything less than pushing forward is giving up close to the finish line (Invicta)."
River gave so much of herself, but was faced with one of the hardest choices she would ever have to make.
-" I come to the point of this long winded post: I have decided to step away from competing in MMA. 
I have to focus on healing myself & that means I cannot continuously walk into the gym & do the exact things my hip cannot handle right now (kicking & grappling). I have been denying this reality for a solid 6 months & I have been dipping in & out of intense turmoil due to the fact that I was not ready to walk away but I was also unable to train appropriately."
The passion can be heard in every word stated by River Jones.
-"I have struggled intimately with a sense of disappointing myself, my family, my friends, my gym, my sport, the 2 opponents I have had to withdraw from, & everyone who has been so generous with their support."
Jones is far from being done by any means with growing as an individual and contributing to the sport she loves.
-"As much as I have mourned this shift in my life (& felt pretty sorry for myself at times), I also recognize the freedom this brings to my life & with some of this time, I am dedicated to sharing my passion with others.
I plan to expand my certifications over the next 6 months so that I can move forward with coaching & supporting others in their pursuits of health, well being, & fitness. This includes working with & mentoring new athletes interested in any aspect of MMA."
-"I will also be offering a FREE class for women on Saturdays @ Pride Gym. It will incorporate disciplines that I am most passionate about & the purpose of which is to provide women with a small chunk of time they can dedicate to themselves."
-"I believe that participating in sport & physical activity play vital roles in helping people find & build upon their unique strengths. I also recognize that women are faced with countless barriers to developing a strong sense of self & it is my intention to address one of these barriers."
-"I would like to thank those who have supported me: MMA Madhouse, Shining Armour, Klench, my family, my friends, my training partners & coaches."
-I look forward to the next chapter."
While heartbreaking to see the competitive career of such a promising young talent be taken away, River "Ruckus" Jones will continue to use her warrior spirit imparting knowledge upon the next generation of fighters. The comment section of her Facebook post is filled with well-wishes from her large contingency of fans and supporters.
SportsGeeks wishes the best to River as she begins this new chapter.
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