Jon Jones had a turbulent few years. Though he is, without debate, one of the most talented fighters to ever step into the cage, his career has been marred by substance abuse problems, brushes with the law, and most recently, a procession of failed drug tests.
News of Jones’ latest failed drug test broke just days after his head-kick knockout win over his arch rival, Daniel Cormier. This test was administered the night before the fight. As a result of this failed test, Jones’ win was overturned, and the UFC light heavyweight strap was returned to Cormier.
At present, Jones is undergoing his due process, as he awaits his punishment for this latest USADA violation. If USADA drops the hammer, he could be out for years.
Despite this possibility, it looks like Jones is already considering a comeback. On Halloween night, the former champion shared a video to Instagram which showed him hitting pads. The video was captioned with the hashtags #Day1 and #PickYourselfUpandStartAgain.
See it below:
Jones is 22-1 overall, with one contest (his recent fight with Cormier). His lone loss came in 2009, when he was disqualified for using illegal 12-6 elbows in a bout with Matt Hamill. Over the course of his legendary career, Jones has scored decisive wins over fighters like Brandon Vera, Ryan Bader, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira, Daniel Cormier and Ovince Saint Preux.
Do you consider Jon Jones one of the greatest fighters of all time, or have his recent indiscretions soured your opinion of him?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 11/1/2017.