The pound-for-pound #1 believes that the hit-and-run incident last year was meant to happen so that he could grow as a human being.
It’s almost been a full year since Jon Jones collided with another vehicle and fled the scene in a traffic accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The 28-year-old broke a pregnant woman’s arm in the collision and has conducted 72 community talks to high school children since pleading guilty in September.
Although the hit-and-run was one of the lowest points of his life, “Bones” believes it was meant to happen so that he could mature as a human being.
The former light heavyweight champion, who was stripped of the title for his behaviour last year, recently spoke to Mike Bohn of Rolling Stone and opened up on God and life.
“This may sound weird, but I believe that God meant for what happened to happen,” Jones said.. “I know a lot of people may twist this or look at it like, ‘Why would God put this girl in a car accident with you? That’s a selfish way of thinking.’ But since that happened, so much good has happened in a lot of people’s lives. I’ve been able to reach thousands of kids.
“I’ve told my story 72 times to completely different groups, to complete strangers. There’s something really freeing about being so real, open and candid with complete strangers and letting them judge you,” he continues. “It’s helped me know who I am. It’s helped me acknowledge the piece-of-shit qualities I had. Truth of the matter, I had some piece-of-shit ways. Still do have some. But at the same time, I have some really great qualities as well.”
Since the accident, and although Jones is determined to change his life, the Jackson-Wink fighter has found himself in trouble with the law on two more occasions. Jones was caught speeding 45-mph over the limit without his driver’s license and insurance details in February and recently served two nights in jail for breaking his probation.
The Rochester-born mixed martial artist was accused of drag racing by officer Jason Brown in March and was served with four more infractions. Jones lashed out and called Brown a “f-cking liar and a “pig”, and is expected to challenge the charges in court.
The former champ will take on late-replacement Ovince Saint Preux for the interim title at UFC 197 after Daniel Cormier pulled out of the bout citing a leg injury. The pay-per-view, which will also feature a flyweight championship tilt between Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo, will take place on April 23rd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.