Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones opened up about his personal life during an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience Thursday night.
And it was quite compelling.
Jones, who is serving a suspension for use of a banned substance, explained that he would get “blacked-out drunk” a week before fights just to give him a built-in excuse if he lost.
“I had this crazy thing that I would do where I would party one week before every fight,” Jones said (thanks to MMA Fighting for the quotes). “And I did it throughout my whole career. And it was stupid, but it was this mental crutch that I had.
“I literally would, one week before every fight. I would go out and I would get blacked out wasted. And my logic was, if this guy were to beat me somehow, I can look myself in the mirror and say, the reason I lost is because I got hammered the week before the fight.”
Jones also admitted that he has struggled to control his alcohol use for a long time.
“My relationship with alcohol was never healthy, and I never went through a period in which I had a mature, healthy, responsible relationship with it,” he said.