Jon Jones has been known to indulge in vices like drinking and… other things.
Saturday night will see ‘Bones’ return to the Octagon for the first time in 20 months when he puts his undisputed heavyweight title on the line against former two-time champion and consensus heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden. It will be Jones’ first time putting his gold up for grabs following a quickfire submission victory over Ciryl Gane in March 2023.
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, former bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling recounted a pre-fight night out on the town with Jones early on in their respective careers.
“He offered me a couple shots at the bar, and I was fighting in like – I think I told him four or five weeks, and he was fighting in like two weeks,” Sterling explained. “This is in the UFC, when we were in upstate New York. I was at Team Bomb Squad, he had just left down to New Mexico, down to [Jackson Wink MMA Academy]. And I was like ‘Am I doing something wrong?’
“Something’s not mathing, like the math ain’t mathing right now. But then I watch him on TV, he’s going out there and he obliterates the competion, And I’m like, ‘I think there’s something to be said about that.’”
Aljamain Sterling recounts a night at the bar w/ Jon Jones 2 weeks prior to one of his fights
#HelwaniShow pic.twitter.com/GEdHkha5El
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 12, 2024
Sterling credits jon jones’ ‘meticulous preparation’ for his continued success
Despite a host of legal issues and very public problems with both alcohol and cocaine, Jon Jones has been dominant throughout his career, winning world titles in two different divisions and amassing a (mostly) perfect record with wins over some of the biggest names in MMA history.
Sterling credits much of Jones’ success to his painstaking preparation that seemingly offsets his more questionable choices outside of the Octagon.
“I think he’s very meticulous in his preparation with getting the looks that he needs to see,” Sterling continued. “The same way that he didn’t take the short-notice fight with Chael Sonnen. He’s not that guy. He wants to make sure he’s got the utmost edge on you in terms of knowing you inside and out before he’s accepting a fight and knowing that he knows you better than you know yourself.
“And I think when you have someone who’s that dedicated to what they’re trying to do – that’s a dangerous person…I don’t know if a couple of drinks are gonna stop you. Coke, whatever it is, I don’t think any of that is gonna stop you. I think as long as you’re in shape, you’re ready to go” (h/t MMA Knockout).