After 23 professional fights, a hit-and-run accident that could have easily deprived him of a livelihood, two doping violation suspensions, and an “atypical” drug test, Jon Jones has given up for the first time in his career, and it was against his toughest and most persistent opponent: public opinion.
“I think my trying to prove any type of innocence is going to be virtually impossible before the fight, because of the controversial image I have,” Jones told ESPN. “People are kind of set in what they’re going to believe. I can’t win over many minds before the fight.”
“Even the scientists that found it, don’t know much about it,” said Jones, on the metabolite in his system. “I’m hearing reports this s— could live in my system for seven years. I’ve learned to say, ‘You know what Jon? You know in your heart you did nothing wrong.’ If I took another polygraph test and answered the question, ‘Have you ever knowingly put this in your system?’ I could confidently say, ‘No, I never knowingly put this in my system.’ And it would be a true statement.”
Jon Jones took a polygraph test at the beginning of the year to attempt to prove his innocence in his latest doping violation and was later vindicated by an independent arbitrator who cleared Jones of any wrongdoing. USADA also publicly exonerated Jones for intentionally cheating for his 2016 doping violation. And most recently, when Jones yet again found himself in a compromising situation after trace amounts of turinabol reemerging in his system leading into UFC 232, USADA once again exonerated Jones of any wrongdoing. Jon Jones believes there is enough evidence to prove his innocence. He also believes that it does not matter to people who do not want to hear it:
“I just have to surrender to people’s opinions,” Jones said. “I gotta surrender to the ignorance our sport is surrounded by. I gotta surrender to the fact most people will never pick up a book and do homework for themselves. I gotta surrender to it all and say, ‘Listen Jon, you’ve had a controversial career. You’re fun for people to pick at. You’re fun for people to talk about. If you are part of anything that’s not positive, it’s going to be huge news.’
“I have to be 100 percent confident in knowing I didn’t do anything wrong.”
What’s your take on Jon Jones’s comments about his public perception?
