“If it ain’t broke…”
Current UFC light heavyweight interim title holder Jon Jones is having sober thoughts. The UFC 200 main event contender is set to face current champion Daniel Cormier for the real title on July 9th, 2016. Seeing as he won their first bout so dominantly back at UFC 182 , one would think after this fight he would be looking onto, well…bigger things. This comes as a surprise to the MMA community as Jon has repeatedly hinted at jumping up to the heavyweight division, even putting out an open casting call to all heavyweights and light heavyweights to replace Daniel Cormier at UFC 197. However, it seems the Muy Thai striker has changed his tune.
“I’m looking at it as, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” Jones said this week on the UFC Unfiltered podcast. “You know, I used to eat bad and party all the time, and that made me think, well, maybe I won’t be able to manage staying at this size, staying at this weight. But you know, now, I’ve calmed myself down quite a bit through a life of sobriety and just a different outlook on my career and everything.
“I eat healthier naturally, and I just make better decisions naturally, so my weight cut has been better. I walk around with a better physique than I used to. I just feel and treat myself better, and I’m also almost 30 years old, so I’m not hitting any growth spurts this late in my life. So I’ve got a feeling that I can stay at this weight class for a long time.”
Since weight is no longer an issue, it seems Jones is free and clear for landing, and will probably be parked in the the 205 division for a long time. The only thing alarming about his new found lifestyle is his last fight against Ovince St. Preux. While it was a lopsided win against a game opponent, you have to admit Jones didn’t exactly look himself. Jones admitted himself that he couldn’t pull the trigger the way he wanted to and at often times was hesitant. This is a far cry from the reckless yet phenomenal Jon Jones of old. Could thinking things through be his downfall?
There are a lot of guys out there who can’t live that completely sober lifestyle, and need a “fun” to take the edge. His new statements are worrying because he doesn’t really sound like Jon Jones but an image of who he feels he’s “suppose” to be.
“I used to be the guy who, I would go out, if I was too close to a fight and didn’t want to drink, I’d be like well I’m definitely not going to have a good time tonight stuck sitting here sober. I wouldn’t dance, I wouldn’t do sh*t. I would just have a negative outlook on the whole night because I knew I couldn’t turn up. And now, dude, I can go out and freaking dance and laugh and have epic times, completely sober.”
For now, Jones plans on cleaning out the division, stacking them checks, and waiting for new blood.
“Right now I’ve got Daniel, (Alexander) Gustafsson, and (Anthony) ‘Rumble’ (Johnson), they’re the only three guys really that I’ve got to work harder than,” Jones said. “Those are the only three guys who can stop me from being the greatest ever. So, I think I’m going to stay at this weight class for a long time and focus on being better than those three until some new blood comes along, and try to rack up as much money and as many wins as I can.”
Stay tuned for more news on the Epic Battle between an unstoppable object and an immovable force on July 9th. UFC 200 will be held at T-mobile arena in Las Vegas.
