Jon Jones was once advertised by Nike as “Not Quite Human,” but recent events have proven that the 27-year-old UFC champ is every bit as flawed and culpable as any other human being.
It seems like yesterday that Jones was hoisting up the light heavyweight title, grinning ear to ear after having defeated his greatest adversary. The win over Daniel Cormier, a former Olympian, was paramount in establishing Jones as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time.
It appeared like Jones would get the last laugh over a growing legion of haters who were desperate for reasons to vilify him.
But those patiently waiting on validation for their skepticism of the young champ’s shady personality were given fuel for their argument just days after his fight with Cormier. It was revealed that Jones had tested positive for benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite of cocaine, during a random drug test on December 4.
The failed test occurred out of competition nearly a month away from the title bout, which meant the Nevada State Athletic Commission couldn’t hand out any punishment. Given the significant time gap, they also weren’t required to dish out the dirty details regarding the failed drug test to the public.
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole confirmed that Jones was allowed to take the fight with Cormier after passing a subsequent test.
Until now, Jones has remained silent about the situation.
On Monday night’s edition of Fox Sports Live, the UFC light heavyweight champ spoke for the first time about the failed test in an exclusive interview with Charissa Thompson:
I’m not here to make excuses for what happened. I did it, basically at a party, and I think a coward would sit here and try to come up with this elaborate reason or to try to blame something, and I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to blame my friends, I’m not going to blame pressure or stress. I’m not going to blame anything. I messed up. I can’t call it a mistake because I consciously did it.
Jones admitted to being introduced to cocaine during his college years. While he “dipped and dabbed” with the drug, he claimed that he was never a frequent user. He also never agreed or disagreed when asked if cocaine was the only drug he’s experimented with.
After the positive drug test was released to the public, Jones issued a statement to Yahoo Sports through his attorney, claiming that he had entered a drug rehabilitation center. But eyebrows began to rise when Jones’ mother, Camille Jones, told CBS affiliate WBNG-TV in Binghamton, New York, that he had only spent one night in rehab.
Jones explained that the decision to enter rehab was collectively made with several business partners. While Jones didn’t believe he needed treatment, his business partners felt it was in his best interest to check into rehab and leave that decision up to doctors after an extensive evaluation.
After speaking with three doctors for seven hours in a 24-hour evaluation, it was determined that Jones would be sent to an outpatient house, as his condition wasn’t serious enough to warrant inpatient therapy. It was then that the decision was made by a drug counselor to grant Jones his release:
I stayed there the next day, the whole day with a bunch of different addicts, and the counselor came to me at the house, and he sat me down and said, ‘Hey Jon, I really believe that you made a big mistake, and you don’t need to live here with us full-time. But I will continue to drug test you and come by your house twice a week or however often.’
According to Jones, the program administers random drug tests to him weekly, and he continues to undergo counseling sessions. He admitted that he wasn’t familiar with the inner workings of the drug rehabilitation process, and he arrived with every intention of staying for as long as the process took.
Every move up until this point has been made in accordance with the guidelines of his particular facility. On Saturday, it was announced that Jones was fined $25,000 by the UFC for the failed out-of-competition drug test.
While Jones isn’t a frequent troublemaker, this isn’t the first issue he’s had outside of the Octagon.
In 2012, he was arrested for a DUI after crashing his Bentley into a pole in Binghamton. TMZ was the first to report the incident that came just a few weeks after Jones defeated Rashad Evans at UFC 145.
As for an apology, Jones has been doing plenty of that as of late. It isn’t about saving face or protecting his image, but more than ever, Jones appeared sincere when considering the irreparable damage this incident might have on his fans.
“My message to my fans is that I’m sorry, that I’m really sorry for maybe betraying their belief or letting them down. I definitely have let myself down, my family, my team, the UFC, my fans,” he said.
Jones declined to comment on whether he would pursue legal action against the NSAC for allegedly spilling the beans on the incident.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon and FanRag.
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