Controversial former UFC champion Jon Jones will make his 2018 debut at the last minute when he meets Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., December 29, 2018) UFC 232 from The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Like any Jones bout, his latest return isn’t without some controversy. News recently broke that Jones had tested positive for a minuscule amount of the steroid he’s coming off a suspension for, yet it wasn’t enough to sanction him in USADA’s eyes. The Nevada State Athletic Commission wouldn’t license him, but California said they would at the last minute. Jones took a surprise drug test, passed it, and also enrolled in VADA drug testing per California’s request.
So the drug-related controversy that often accompanies the lead-up to a Jones fight was here once again, and it caused a huge mess over the Christmas Holiday. Every involved entity responded with a statement, and the whole fight game sounded off with their reactions. Joe Rogan especially blasted the NSAC for their supposedly dumb decisions.
About the only thing that is not being discussed about Jones’ return is the actual fight. Obviously, he and Gustafsson have a long-standing rivalry dating back to their close, hotly-debated first battle at UFC 165. It still stands the test as one of the greatest fights in UFC history, and the rematch is definitely one of the best do-overs in UFC history. It deserves to be.
Just Another Fight?
But Jones isn’t neceassarily treating it that way, or so he claims. He recently said that huge championship fights are his ‘comfort zone,’ and it tough to argue with him based on his record (via MMA News):
“This is my comfort zone,” Jones said of Saturday’s main event. “High-level fights is my comfort zone. Championship fights
Should Be The GOAT
You just can’t argue with Jones and his illustrious track record in high-level title fights. He was the UFC’s youngest-ever champion and he then defended it against a long list of former champions in the following two years. Not only did he win the fights, however, but he finished the legends with ease. It was quite possibly MMA’s most impressive run.
And he’d almost certainly be the greatest fighter in UFC history if he had steared clear of the multiple drug issues issues that seem to mar his every return. But that doesn’t place any pressure on his latest fight for him. He thinks the Gustafsson rematch is just ‘another day at the office:’
“Another day at the office. No fight’s a big fight. It’s just another fight. This is what I do. This is what God put me on this planet to do.”
Jones indeed may have been put on this Earth to fight. He’s that talented and effective in the Octagon. Outside of it, however, is another story. The next chapter of that story begins this weekend, and it could go in several unpredictable directions.
As we’ve come to learn with Jones, that’s always the case.
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