Former UFC champion Jon Jones is feeling “rejuvenated” ahead of his return to the Octagon for the first time in more than a year, Sherdog reports.
“Today I stand here five months sober, feeling amazing and rejuvenated,” the former light heavyweight champion said at a press conference last week.
In April of last year, Jones was stripped of his title and suspended indefinitely after being arrested in New Mexico for a hit-and-run accident that left a pregnant woman with a broken arm.
In January 2015, prior to the hit-and-run, Jones announced he had entered into a drug treatment facility after he tested positive for benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite in cocaine, in a random drug test administered by the Nevada Athletic Commission. His rehab stay lasted just one night.
By the end of 2015, the former champion’s love of partying, cannabis, and alcohol was no secret. In November, he told MMA Fighting that he was able to maintain this lifestyle for a while. “I was a guy who loved to party. I was able to win my fights and I felt as though it really wasn’t affecting me that bad. I would go out on the weekend and then on Monday morning I’d be the first guy at practice, working harder than everybody else. So, I felt as though I could get away with that,” he said.
Jones, who in March 2011 became the youngest champion in UFC history at the age of 23, was reinstated by the UFC in October after he entered a plea agreement with officials, which included mandatory community service as a condition of his reinstatement.
Jones will fight Daniel Cormier at UFC 197 on April 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. This will be Jones’ second fight with Cormier. Their first meeting was at UFC 182, where Jones defeated Cormier via unanimous decision.
At the recent press conference, Jones took a moment to reflect on his tumultuous year. “We’re all on different journeys. Sometimes people mature faster than others. Sometimes it takes a few more mistakes to realize what they have and what they’re messing up,” he said. “For me I felt as if the last situation really brought me to my knees. I lost my respect nationwide. I lost my endorsements. I lost my job. I lost so much.”
Jones said his recent experience was his “rock bottom,” but that over the last year, he’s had the opportunity to work on his “character outside of being an athlete.”
“I’m on a mission to prove to the world that you can get back on your feet after almost anything if you don’t give up on yourself,” he said. “That it’s all about continuing to fight. I know in order to prove that defeating Daniel Cormier is going to be a big part of that.”