Jon "Bones" Jones is preparing for a return to the Octagon after being reinstated by the UFC in October, and in his first lengthy interview in months the former light heavyweight champion had no shortage of opinions on a multitude of hot-button topics.
Jones was stripped of his title and suspended for his role in a hit-and-run accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in April.
Many have wondered why the 28-year-old star decided to flee the scene rather than waiting for law enforcement, and he explained his state of mind at the time to Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting (h/t James Dator of SB Nation):
I was afraid. I freaked out. I was afraid to speak to the police at that time. I thought 'Let me just get away from this.' ... I just had tunnel vision. I definitely hit hard and I'm sitting here thinking 'I need to go. I need to get away from this.' So I started running and got maybe five yards away from my car and I remembered I had a bowl, a marijuana bowl in my cup holder. I knew that if the police found that bowl in my car that everything was going to be so much worse than I thought it should be, I guess.
Jones certainly placed himself in a trying situation that could have cost him his career, but due to the perspective it gave him, he believes hitting rock bottom may have been precisely what he needed in order to turn things around:
In a way I'm grateful. I get to recognize my mistakes. I get to assess what's made me not necessarily the best role model. I get to assess that and I get to alter that and go back into the game and do things better. To become a better role model, and a better athlete. I got to retire almost. Now I get to get back in the game still young enough, still fresh enough to have a serious future.
Ronda Rousey has been the talk of MMA during Jones' absence, especially her shocking defeat at the hands of Holly Holm at UFC 193.
The former UFC women's bantamweight champion has been under fire for her overconfidence entering the fight and poor game plan during it, but Jones had nothing but good things to say about her due to the manner in which she treated him when he was struggling:
Ronda has been very supportive of me. She texted me quite a few times. She even invited me to come and stay at her beach house in California. She said 'Jon, you're going to come back from this. If there's anything I can do for you, let me know. If you want to get away I've got a house here that not many people know where it's at and it's your house until you get right.' Stuff like that, it's like man—this girl is on top of the world right now and she's sitting here thinking of me at my darkest hour. That's something I'll never forget.
While Jones had mostly positive things to say about his impending return and change in attitude, he couldn't resist taking a shot at his UFC 152 opponent—Vitor Belfort.
Chris Weidman accused Belfort of cheating in May due to inconsistencies in his testosterone levels, and Jones insisted to Helwani not only that Belfort was on steroids prior to their fight in 2012, but also that the UFC was aware of it (h/t Michael Hutchinson of SB Nation):
Vitor Belfort was on steroids when I fought him. The UFC was very well aware, way before the fight. They did nothing to penalize him. They let the fight go on knowing that I was fighting a guy on steroids, which is a hazard to my life. What do you do? ... At his age and where he's at in his career, I remember at the weigh ins I looked at his abs, and I'm like, 'Dude, I'm several years younger than you and you look way tighter than me.' And I knew I trained pretty hard for that camp.
Jones' claims have never been substantiated, but it is clear that the Rochester, New York, native feels as though he was wronged by the very company that recently reinstated him.
While Jones certainly still has an eye toward the past, one can only assume that his focus will soon shift back to his pursuit of regaining the title he never truly lost.
Jones beat current UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in his last fight at UFC 182, and a rematch seems inevitable.
Everything Jones has said suggests he is ready to return to action and make an impact, but the fact that he has been away for nearly a year means there is no guarantee he will be his dominant self when he does officially come back.
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