He wanted to be the Michael Jordan of the UFC. Then he got in trouble with drugs, cursed out a cop on camera and hit a pregnant driver. You think he's repenting?
Think again.
MIKE SAGER
JULY 13, 2017
"When they put me in there, it let me know where I didn't want to be," Jones tells me, in one of three extended conversations with B/R Mag over a two-week period, his first in-depth interviews since 2014. He has large brown eyes and a scar on his forehead from where his brother, Arthur—who would grow up to win a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens—once hit him with a soda can so hard the can exploded. (Arthur says he got the same in return; their parents had to drive them both to the emergency room.)
Nearly seven years ago, at age 23, Jones became the youngest man to ever win a UFC championship. Now facing age 30, with a 22-1 record and a mountain of controversy behind him, he says he has seen the light.
"I think my problem, when I first got into the game, was I wanted to be a saint—like, literally," Jones says. "I thought I had to be a real goodie-goodie. I'm at a place now where I realize that the fans don't really care if you're a good boy or a bad boy. They just want you to be responsible, you know? Hitting a pregnant woman and taking off running is not responsible. Taking a dick pill is not being responsible."
Never had the consequences of his actions been more obvious to him, Jones says, than during his three-day stay in jail. According to authorities, he was removed from the general jail population for his own protection.
"You're used to living the good life, you're doing work you love, you have a big-ass house. And then you have all your shit taken away. It's just you and a suit that doesn't fit, and socks that are dingy, pillowcases that have somebody else's sweat stains still on them. And the flip-flops that fucking don't cover the heel of your foot. Or showering when people can watch you..."
His voice trails off.
"It was a terrible experience, but it was all I needed," Jones says. "I finally realized at this point in my life how much I took for granted."
....
Now, sitting on the mat inside the Octagon, Jones scoffs at the suggestion that Cormier is any sort of special rival. "When people ask me why I have so much animosity towards him, I say I really don't," he says. "Daniel is no greater than anybody else I've beat by unanimous decision.
"With Daniel, when we argue, I usually get the last laugh. I literally don't hate him. I just don't think he's very bright, verbally speaking. He's all mad at me because he doesn't get my jokes.
"I really just want to whoop his ass because of how much he hates me. I beat him, and he has the championship belt by default. It's time to get back in there and fight."
....
Jones doesn't skip a beat: "As far as me doing coke before a fight, that's not me trying to be a bad guy. That's me frickin' doing a bump—you know, at a party. The truth of the matter is, you'd be surprised how many people have done coke. I've been around some of the greatest athletes in the country. Athletes with a lot bigger names than me do coke. But people don't talk about it.
"I just like to have a good time, man," Jones says. "If you can afford to smoke a little weed, and do a little coke, and still win world titles, who's to tell you you can't? I understand these things are illegal. And once you get caught doing it, it's humiliating. But at the same time, I'm not an addict or anything like that. You don't see me walking around weighing fucking 100 pounds with my teeth rotting out and scabs all over my face."
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