After a tumultuous 2015, former UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones is finally preparing himself for a return to the Octagon.
After two public scandals that ultimately led to an indefinite suspension, “Bones” vowed to be a different person and admitted to a lot of mistakes in a lengthy interview with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani.
Jones revealed that he holds a grudge against the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The reason behind that is a pre-fight drug test that the NAC ordered prior to his fight against Daniel Cormier at UFC 182. The test results showed cocaine metabolites were found in the blood of the then-UFC champion. The test results became public right after the event.
“I had no right to be doing cocaine, but they had no right to be testing me for street drugs and then putting it out to the public. I hear about the cocaine more than anything else I’ve ever done in my career. So, they definitely set me back huge. Let’s just say I haven’t forgot bout it,” Jones said, and hinted that he even considers suing the NAC. “It’s crazy with the whole cocaine thing. Ariel, I’ll look you dead in your eyes. I don’t like coke. I’m not a coke guy. I smoked marijuana quite frequently. And people who know me know that about me. I love to drink. I can honestly say I partied with the best of them.
“But cocaine, you know, I tried cocaine one night and the athletic commission is there the next day. It was just, like, how in the world did this just go down? How did it happen this way? So now people like to paint me as this coke head, and my haters would love for me to be a coke head, but far from it. I would never be able to accomplish the things I have with cocaine. I was addicted to marijuana. And because you can do so much while being a marijuana addict, it’s hard to admit that you’re an addict. But I was, and now I’m not, and I feel set free, and I’m just so grateful for everything that has happened to me, because it’s allowed me to see this and be more clear.”
Jones’ suspension has been lifted by the UFC in October. He hinted a comeback fight at a potential April 23rd event in New York via Twitter.
About the author
