Jon Jones: ‘No Man Can Hit Me As Hard As Life Hit Me’
Jon Jones made a triumphant return to the Octagon at UFC 232, when he beat Alexander Gustafsson by way of a third round TKO. This followed his most recent USADA suspension. Which in turn had followed a long line of adversities and controversies.
Now Jones is trying to make amends and make up for lost time. As he told The LA Times.
“Every champion has his own stories, and mine have been difficult. I’ve definitely made things harder on myself. But whether the adversity is self-inflicted or not, I’m just here for the challenge. I want to make up for lost time.
“I just needed to stay strong and let it all happen. It took a lot of strength. Today, I stand here knowing no man can hit me as hard as life hit me.
“Not only did it not break me, but I progressed tremendously even through all of my struggles and my pain. That feels good. It’s rewarding to feel that you’re getting better as you get older, as you get more experience and have been through so much. It lets me know adversity is nothing, that it’s actually made me stronger.
“I’m grateful to have my job back. I have nothing to hide. I’ve never taken a day off from the drug pool. I’m always open to being drug tested by the appropriate agency at the given time.
“I didn’t really have any guilt at all. I’ve never really done anything wrong. I know from the outside looking in, it’s, ‘There’s Jon messing up again’ but [the positive PED results] were really something I couldn’t control. I learned not to act like a guilty person if you’re not guilty. Just take it on the chin and deal with it.
“I set out to be the best fighter ever, and I’m trying to achieve something that is very different and very special. I’m working toward a future. To do what I’m supposed to do is not supposed to be simple.”
When asked would he fight Daniel Cormier at heavyweight, ‘Bones’ said he would for he right price.
“If the fans want to see it [at heavyweight] bad enough, the UFC will make it happen for me financially. If they don’t, it will always be something that’s coulda-shoulda-woulda. Sending me against one of the best fighters ever, and making me sacrifice being smaller than him, they have to make it make sense financially.
“Because, at 2-0 against him, I have nothing to prove. The pressure’s on Daniel. I’m the GOAT of this generation. He knows it. And the fans know that.”
Jones defends his UFC light heavyweight title this weekend, in Las Vegas at UFC 235.
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