Congratulations, Jon Jones. As DJ Khaled would say, "you played yourself".
Jones, one of the biggest mixed martial arts fighters in the world, was scheduled to fight Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight title at UFC 200. Key word here is 'was.' The problem is that Jones cannot seem to get out of his own way.
Three days before the biggest fight card in UFC history, it was made public that Jones failed a drug test and would be removed from the event. At a press conference the morning after the announcement, Jones denied the fact that he willingly took performance enhancing drugs and that his B sample would be tested, leaving a small door open that he would still fight. His sample once again came back testing positive.
This is not the first time Jones has faced trouble, although it is his first performance-enhancing drug offense. In January 2015, it was announced that the light heavyweight fighter tested positive for benzoylecgonine, which is found in cocaine. The test was taken before Jones' UFC 182 fight against Cormier but since the drug is not on the banned list by the World Anti-Doping Agency, he was allowed to fight.
In April of 2015 Jones was once again the center of controversy for his involvement in a hit-and-run accident. The UFC star crashed into two cars and then fled the scene by foot, leaving a pregnant woman injured in her car. When police arrived they found marijuana inside of his car. Jones was charged with a felony and jailed. Due to the events, the UFC stripped the light heavyweight champion of his belt and suspended him indefinitely.
Flash back to present day and all seemed to be well with Jones. Coming off of an interim light heavyweight championship victory against Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197, Jones was poised to take on Cormier to decide who the true champion is. With no recent incidents and his partying put to the side, Jones was seen as more focused and prepared than ever; that all was forgotten once it was released that he had tested positive for PEDs.
Here is the main problem with Jones: he is too talented of a fighter to have these incidents derail him. Jon Jones holds a professional record of 22-1 with his only defeat coming due to throwing illegal elbows. He has been ranked as the world's top pound-for-pound fighter. Why on earth would he involve himself with these negative situations and potentially ruin his great UFC career?
To many, Jones is seen as the UFC's biggest star and when he is actually in the ring, he looks unstoppable. He has formed a rivalry with Cormier that has captivated the whole MMA fan base and if only Jones' didn't mess up and ruin their UFC 200 fight, it could have been his biggest payday on top of potentially winning back the light heavyweight championship belt.
On top of ruining his title fight with Cormier, Jones might have burned the biggest bridge of all with UFC President Dana White. Following Jones being pulled from his title fight, White went on record stating that he does not plan to talk to the fighter.
"There is nothing for us to talk about," White said. "No, I'm not talking to Jon Jones. I'm not talking to him, there's no reason for us to talk."
It is one thing to have competitors mad at you but having the president of the UFC not willing to talk to you can ultimately derail your career. White is in charge of scheduling UFC fights and with no communication between Jones and White, it's tough to see what Jones' future is in the sport.
To put a positive spin on things, Jones is only 28 and still has plenty of time to straighten things out outside of the ring.
But until that moment, congratulations Jon Jones, you played yourself.
