Getty Image
Jon Jones will finally be making his return to the UFC after a very lengthy suspension and in a new interview he dropped a few bombshells leading up to his long-awaited rematch with Daniel Cormier at UFC 214.
Jones, who was suspended after testing positive for banned substances just prior to fighting Cormier at UFC 200, is the first fighter in UFC history to ever be stripped of a title twice. He also lost his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship prior to UFC 187 after being involved in a hit-and-run incident.
Speaking to Bleacher Report about his latest suspension Jones made some serious accusations without actually naming any names…
At the risk of angering the once—and almost certainly future—light heavyweight champion, I ask him the question I’ve been wanting to ask since we met.
Why the hell would a pro fighter, days away from the end of a yearlong drug suspension, admit to doing drugs? That’s not exactly flying under the radar, is it?
Jones doesn’t skip a beat: “As far as me doing coke before a fight, that’s not me trying to be a bad guy. That’s me frickin’ doing a bump—you know, at a party. The truth of the matter is, you’d be surprised how many people have done coke. I’ve been around some of the greatest athletes in the country. Athletes with a lot bigger names than me do coke. But people don’t talk about it.
“I just like to have a good time, man,” Jones says. “If you can afford to smoke a little weed, and do a little coke, and still win world titles, who’s to tell you you can’t? I understand these things are illegal. And once you get caught doing it, it’s humiliating. But at the same time, I’m not an addict or anything like that. You don’t see me walking around weighing fucking 100 pounds with my teeth rotting out and scabs all over my face.”
Two statements jump out right there…
1. I’ve been around some of the greatest athletes in the country. Athletes with a lot bigger names than me do coke.
2. If you can afford to smoke a little weed, and do a little coke, and still win world titles, who’s to tell you you can’t?
Sounds like somebody is trying to justify making some really, really stupid life decisions.
Jones then compares himself to Charles Barkley, circa his “I am not a role model” days.
“If you want to look up to me or love me for some reason, then go right ahead and I’ll try to be somebody that will be remembered for a long time because of winning fights. I would like to try to make a positive impact on people, you know, one way or another. I don’t want to be this bad guy. But at the end of the day, I’m not going out of my way to be Mother Teresa. Nobody asked me to be a saint.”
No, they just asked you to not waste your amazing talent by making unfathomable decisions. Then again this is the guy who almost immediately after being reinstated shouted at Cormier during a press conference this spring, “I beat you after a weekend of cocaine.” And then said, “I had two great weekends back-to-back. Cocaine one weekend, your ass the next. It was great.”
Perhaps making smart decisions just isn’t his forte.
Check out the rest of the very in-depth story over at Bleacher Report.