The last time Jon Jones fought Daniel Cormier he tested positive for cocaine and shortly after was caught up in a hit & run case that cost him a year of his career.
Jon feels those days are behind him and that his new sober lifestyle will bring out his true potential.
“You know, I used to eat bad and party all the time, and that made me think, well, maybe I won’t be able to manage staying at this size, staying at this weight. But you know, now, I’ve calmed myself down quite a bit through a life of sobriety and just a different outlook on my career and everything.
“I eat healthier naturally, and I just make better decisions naturally, so my weight cut has been better. I walk around with a better physique than I used to. I just feel and treat myself better, and I’m also almost 30 years old, so I’m not hitting any growth spurts this late in my life. So I’ve got a feeling that I can stay at this weight class for a long time.”
Jones also talked about how sobriety has changed his lifestyle outside of the octagon.
“I love it, man. I’m so much happier now,” Jones said. “I still go out all the time, I still hang out with a bunch of people who like to have a good time, but I’m that dude at the party who’s just sober, and I love it. I just feel so much better, like I have better friendships, better connections with people, my confidence sober is through the roof.
“I used to be the guy who, I would go out, if I was too close to a fight and didn’t want to drink, I’d be like well I’m definitely not going to have a good time tonight stuck sitting here sober. I wouldn’t dance, I wouldn’t do sh*t. I would just have a negative outlook on the whole night because I knew I couldn’t turn up. And now, dude, I can go out and freaking dance and laugh and have epic times, completely sober.”
A sober Jon Jones is a changed Jon Jones. Common sense would say that a healthier Jones would be a better fighter in the octagon but his last fight against OSP didn’t show it. The title unification fight with Daniel Cormier at UFC 200 will show if Jones is still the greatest fighter in the world.