UFC star Jon Jones has lost time and two belts, not confidence
Two tumultuous years have cost Jon Jones the UFC belt that once signified his dominance as the best light heavyweight in the world and done immense damage to his reputation as one of the greatest fighters of all time.
All of the drama has done little to diminish his confidence or belief he can step right back into his lofty status atop the mixed martial arts world as soon as he is eligible to compete.
“I feel like I’m truly the greatest mixed martial artist who ever walked this planet,” Jones said a day before attending UFC 210 in Buffalo, New York, this month, where Daniel Cormier retained the light heavyweight belt by submitting Anthony Johnson. “I’m still the youngest guy in the top 10 of the division. That should be a scary thought for the rest of these guys, how preserved I am and how hungry and focused I am now.”
Jones is serving a one-year suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stemming from an out-of-competition test that cost him a title fight against Cormier last July, just days before their scheduled rematch. Cormier acquired the belt after it had been stripped from Jones in 2015 as a result of being charged in a hit-and-run accident.
The list of transgressions by Jones outside the cage is surpassed only by his unbelievable accomplishments inside of it. The 29-year-old superstar put together eight straight title defenses before the belt was taken away. His only career loss was a fluky disqualification in a 2009 bout he was dominating.
Yet Jones was cited for driving under the influence in 2012 and was flagged for a positive cocaine test by the Nevada Athletic Commission in 2014.
Prior to his scheduled fight against Cormier last July, Jones was insistent his life was in order. Then came the news of the failed test and his removal from the biggest card in UFC history (UFC 200) just days before the event.
Jones successfully argued to a USADA arbitration panel that the positive test for an estrogen blocker came from a tainted over-the-counter sexual performance pill.
He was still forced to sit out a year and relinquish the interim belt he had won in his brief return, and, perhaps most importantly, endure yet another mark on his legacy.
Jones says the most frustrating part about his current ordeal is he had done a lot of work to clean up his life.
“It really hurt to have people thinking that I was still a guy that was screwing up when the truth is I’ve had my life pretty together for the last two years,” he said. “That hit-and-run really changed a lot in my life. If I hadn’t taken the sex pill right now, I would have won at UFC 200 and I would be the champion. I’d have the belt sitting right in front of me and people would be saying how great it is to see how much I turned my life around and how I’m doing all the right things and had become a man right in front of everyone’s eyes.
“But instead, because of that one damn pill, I still don’t have the belt and I’ve fought once in the last two years. The consensus is that I’m this guy who can’t get his (expletive) together. I feel like my (expletive’s) been together for quite a long time and I’m excited to let the belt be a reflection of how I’ve gotten my life together.”
It’s all been said before. Jones acknowledges he was saying the same things in the days before his UFC 200 fight, just before news broke of his positive test.
“I believe trust and faith are things that should be earned,” he said. “If people don’t want to believe I’ve matured a lot, they don’t have to. It’s up to me to earn that trust through my actions. I think time will be the judge.”
Count UFC president Dana White among the skeptics. He has said he will not put Jones in a main event upon his return because he has caused chaos on several cards in the past. White said he can’t put millions of dollars into promotion of a fight if he can’t trust Jones to be available on fight night.
White told the Review-Journal he hasn’t spoken to Jones since the suspension and doesn’t expect him to be booked on the UFC 213 card at T-Mobile Arena on July 8, just days after Jones becomes eligible.
“We’re not close to making anything,” White said.
Whether it’s on that card or at a later date, it’s expected Jones will face Cormier for the title upon his return.
Jones handed Cormier his only career loss in January 2015 and their rivalry includes several canceled bouts for various reasons and a brawl in the lobby of the MGM Grand following a news conference.
Cormier blames Jones for the fact they’ve only fought once.
“I’ve been here this whole time,” Cormier said. “I’ve been here. Jon Jones is the one that hasn’t been here for us to fight again. When I lost to him, I knew it was just the beginning of a series of fights him and I would have, but it just hasn’t been able to come together.
“But if they don’t trust him to put him to put him in a main event, I can understand. We’ve all been burned by this young man.”
Jones, the brother of two NFL players, insists those days are over. He says he looks forward to showing what he can do when his focus is entirely on his craft.
“The time off has been great,” he said. “I think you can’t really appreciate what you have until you don’t have it anymore, so this last year has given me a chance to realize how great my life was and how bad I want it back.
“I used to do a lot of dumb (expletive). A lot. And I just took so much for granted. Now I realize how easy it is to find yourself on the wrong track, around the wrong people or just in trouble. I feel my decision-making skills have increased tremendously. I just feel like I’ve matured a lot. I’m just a lot more aware and I’m much more aware of who I am, too. I can’t afford to do (expletive).”
The beleaguered former champ knows there will be those expecting, or even outright rooting, for him to fail.
“People love to hear Jon Jones drama,” he acknowledged. “But I’m done giving it to them.”
Jones says all he can do is stay focused on his family and goal of regaining the belt.
That, and making sure he goes to a more reliable source next time he needs help in the bedroom.
Follow all of our MMA and UFC coverage online at CoveringTheCage.com and @CoveringTheCage on Twitter.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.
Last Five Fights
Results of the last five fights for Jon Jones, who was stripped of the light heavyweight title in April 2015:
April 27, 2013: Jones def. Chael Sonnen by first-round knockout at UFC 159 in Newark, New Jersey, to retain the light heavyweight title
Sept. 21, 2013: Jones def. Alexander Gustafsson by unanimous decision at UFC 165 in Toronto to retain the light heavyweight title
April 26, 2014: Jones def. Glover Teixeira by unanimous decision at UFC 172 in Baltimore to retain the light heavyweight title
Jan. 3, 2015: Jones def. Daniel Cormier by unanimous decision at UFC 182 in Las Vegas to retain the light heavyweight title (was stripped after he was charged in a hit-and-run inciden in April)
April 23, 2016: Jones def. Ovince Saint Preux by unanimous decision at UFC 197 in Las Vegas to win the interim light heavyweight title (was stripped after positive doping test in July)
Jon Jones’ Troubles
A timeline of Jon Jones’ notable incidents outside the cage since he became the youngest champion in UFC history in 2011:
May 19, 2012: Jones is taken into custody for refusing a field sobriety test after crashing his car into a telephone pole in Binghamton, New York. He eventually pleaded guilty to driving under the influence.
Aug. 4, 2014: Jones is involved in a brawl with Daniel Cormier following a news conference in the lobby of the MGM Grand.
Jan. 6, 2015: The Nevada Athletic Commission announces Jones had failed an out-of-competition test for cocaine prior to a fight against Cormier, but the test had been improperly administered because out-of-competition tests were not supposed to be screened for the drug.
April 26, 2015: Jones is involved in a hit-and-run accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that injured a pregnant woman. He turned himself into authorities the next day after fleeing the scene on foot. Jones eventually pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to 18 months of probation. A marijuana pipe is found in the car and Jones is stripped of the UFC light heavyweight title and suspended indefinitely.
March 29, 2016: Jones is briefly jailed on a probation violation after he was cited for allegedly drag racing and a video is released showing a verbal altercation with an Albuquerque police officer.
July 6, 2016: Jones is flagged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for a potential violation of the UFC’s anti-doping policy and pulled from a UFC 200 bout against Cormier just days before the scheduled rematch. He was eventually given a one-year suspension for the presence of an estrogen blocker in his system.
