Jon Jones is about to fight for the fourth time, since he was stripped of the UFC’s light-heavyweight title in 2017, and “Bones” says his highly publicized issues are behind him.
Jones says his “best days” are ahead
Over the years, Jones has established himself as one of the greatest fighters of all time, if not the greatest. But, that legacy has been tarnished by several, well documented run-ins with the law. Further, Jones has been flagged by USADA for banned substances several times. The controversial star has repeatedly denied ever knowingly taking any type of performance-enhancing drug.
Well, at UFC 247 this Saturday, Jones will take on Dominick Reyes. It will mark the third time Jones will be defending the light-heavyweight title, after being stripped of it in 2017 and reclaiming it in 2018. During a recent talk with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Jones had this to say about his future and his well documented troubles in the past (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“I do feel like the storm is behind me,” Jones said. “It has been an interesting journey and I’ve learned so much. I’m just grateful. I’m grateful to have had all the lessons that I’ve been able to learn. I’m grateful that god has kept me through all of it and allow me to grow so much through it all. Yeah, I think my best days are still ahead of me. I feel like I’m just now really getting into a nice groove about what it means to be a father and a professional athlete and a person with great responsibility, and I’m excited about this and I feel like I’m stepping into it well.”
“I just feel like I was maybe at a place where I felt like I was throwing a lot of greatness away and I believe that talent and when you have opportunity, it’s a terrible thing to waste,” Jones said. “So I feel like these days I take more accountability for my actions and my emotions and my circle and behaviors and things like that. I think that’s been the major difference, just more accountability.”
Now sure, Jones’ critics and others might question whether indeed, the “storm” is behind “Bones”. But, hopefully that’s the case. Jones is 32 now, so if he’s able to build on his record in the coming years his case as the greatest fighter of all time will be that much stronger.
All this aside, it’s going to be interesting to see how Jones looks against Reyes. In “Bones” last bout in July, he narrowly got by Thiago Santos with a split decision win.
UFC 247 line-up
Here is the official line-up for UFC 247 will be hosted by the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on February 8th (line-up via MMA Mania).
UFC 247 Main Card On ESPN+ (10 p.m. ET)
205 lbs.: UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes
125 lbs.: UFC Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko vs. Katlyn Chookagian
265 lbs.: Juan Adams vs. Justin Tafa
145 lbs.: Mirsad Bektic vs. Dan Ige
265 lbs.: Ilir Latifi vs. Derrick Lewis
UFC 247 Prelims Card On ESPN (8 p.m. ET):
135 lbs.: Marlon Vera vs. TBA
185 lbs.: Antonio Arroyo vs. Trevin Giles
170 lbs.: Alex Morono vs. TBA
125 lbs.: Andrea Lee vs. Lauren Murphy
UFC 247 Prelims Card On ESPN+ (6:30 p.m. ET):
135 lbs.: Mario Bautista vs. Miles Johns
135 lbs.: Journey Newson vs. Domingo Pilarte
135 lbs.: Andre Ewell vs. Jonathan Martinez
*Fight card, bout order and the amount of matches subject to change.
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