ATONE DEAF
Jones has long way to go in fight for redemption
LOS ANGELES — Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier sat on a dais on Wednesday exchanging insults for what seems like the umpteenth time. Even they have reached the point where they’re running out of words.
“We’ve been doing this so many times,” Cormier said at Wednesday afternoon at Novo, near the Staples Center. “How many times can we keep doing this before fighting?”
Hopefully, this was their last time. Their much-anticipated showdown for the UFC light heavyweight championship Saturday at the Honda Center headlines a UFC 214 card with three title fights that have put all the talk about Floyd Mayweather versus Conor McGregor on pause.
Jones-Cormier 2 isn’t just a rematch of the unanimous decision Jones earned at UFC 184 in January 2015. It’s a chance for redemption for Jones, who was stripped of his title later that year for a series of personal issues and validation for Cormier, who has been the champion since.
Jones (22-1) is considered among the best MMA fighters of all time, but has to show us we can trust him again. The 30-year-old from Ithaca, N.Y., returns to the Octagon for just the second time in two years, trying to use his remarkable skills inside the cage to erase his tarnished reputation outside of it.
Jones keeps saying the last time something “bad” happened was two years ago — as if his history of finding trouble should be old news. Four months after beating Cormier, he was arrested for leaving the scene of a hitand-run accident that injured a pregnant woman in Albuquerque. He was subsequently stripped of his title, suspended by the UFC and sentenced to 18 months of supervised probation.
That’s just the most troubling incident on his list of transgressions. In 2012, the then-light heavyweight champion drove his Bentley into a pole in Binghamton. He was charged with DUI. In January 2015 he tested positive for cocaine before defending his title at UFC 182. That was followed by the hit-and- run accident in April 2015.
After serving a one-year suspension, his next fight was a five-round decision over Ovince St. Preux at UFC 197 in April 2016. A rematch with Cormier was to headline UFC 200 in July 2016. But Jones had to be pulled from the card just days before the bout after testing positive for a banned substance.
As he fights for just the second time in two years, Jones thinks he should be forgiven.
“Over the last two years I feel like I’ve really done the right things to get my life back in order,” he said, adding, “My
talent and my brand grew faster than my character.”
He admits being pulled for UFC 200 “sent me backwards.” He tested positive for banned ingredients in what he described as a sex pill.
“The perception is that my life is still a little out of control,” Jones said. “If you knew me and if you lived in Albuquerque and you saw all my relationships with people and the community and the way things are turning around for me, you would see things differently.”
UFC President Dana White was fuming when Jones had to be pulled for UFC 200, and vowed he would never trust him to headline a major pay-perview event card again. But Jones’ popularity and talent warranted a rematch with Cormier (19-1) on the biggest stage as soon as possible. The result is a sellout crowd and massive interest despite the shadow of Mayweather-McGregor.
“I feel like this win on Saturday, it’s going to allow the fans to forgive and forget a little bit about that hit-and-run car accident and stuff to get excited about my future,” Jones said. “I think that getting this belt back is going to set everything in the right direction for people to remember why I’m an exciting fighter, for people to remember why I’m one of the biggest pay-per-view draws in the sport. I think people have forgotten about the things that make me special.”
Jones has only himself to blame for that.