White: Jon Jones, Fans & Media Never Saw This Coming
Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones really dropped the ball on his MMA career this year. After testing positive for cocaine during an out of competition drug test before UFC 182, fans started to further question the legitimacy of the champ’s image.
That should have served as a kick in the ass for ‘Bones’, and perhaps the soft stance by his employers aided in what transpired next. An allegedly drug-fuelled hit-and-run in New Mexico marked the end of Jones’ stint as UFC light-heavyweight champion, and the start of his journey in to obscurity.
Talking with ‘Off The Record’, as transcribed by MMAFighting.com, UFC president Dana White compares Jones to the recently crowned ‘World’s most dominant athlete’ Ronda Rousey:
“I said a long time ago: Whenever somebody wins the belt at such a young age and the money and the fame that goes along with it, it’s going to be a tough ride, You either have the people that go the route of a Ronda Rousey or the people that have gone Jones Jones’. I’d say more people have gone Jon Jones‘ route than the Ronda Rousey route.””
As well as Jones learning a pretty big lesson from this experience, the promotion needs to impress morals on up-and-comers in the UFC. If it happened to JJ, who’s to say that the next young champ won’t go down exactly the same route?
“It’s tough,” White continued. “It is what it is. This guy’s got to figure out his legal situation, get all his stuff handled and then decide whether he wants to fight again. I don’t think anyone saw that coming,” White said. “The fans, the media and probably even Jon Jones.”
Daniel Cormier frequently accused Jones of being fake and two-faced, but not even the most staunch ‘Bones’ opposer’s thought it could go this far. From a young phenomenon, to a dominant champion, to a disgraced criminal; Jon Jones has been through the loop and is yet to come out of the other side.
Whether or not he’ll rebound in the octagon is unknown, as is his fate while it rests in the hands of the courts.
