Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones returns to action at UFC 232, facing Alexander Gustafsson for the soon to be vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Title.
The fighter was issued a fifteen month suspension in connection with a failed drug test in line with UFC 214, with UFC 232 marking the first bout for him since that suspension. Jones admits that there are still times when he drinks alcohol and smokes marijuana.
“No, I still drink and smoke pot, too, every once in a while,” he said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “I’m in a very healthy place. I mean, who knows. My coaches know I drink. Not like a crazy, crazy amount. Some weekends, mainly on the weekends.”
Jones has been getting tested even during the suspension and has yet to fail one as of this writing.
Although Jones said he matured since going to a trauma facility earlier this year, complete sobriety is a goal that the fighter isn’t truly ready for.
“It was something I was striving for, especially going to rehab this summer. I was striving for complete sobriety. But, I am not ready for it,” Jones said. “It is not who I was and it’s not who I am in my life or career. And I am at a place where I can be honest with myself. But, being in there definitely matured me a lot.”
UFC 232 takes place on Saturday, December 29 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
