Jon Jones: 'I don't have a drug problem - I just got caught'
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones said during a Fox Sports 1 interview that aired on Monday that he has been an occasional drug user, but he doesn’t have a drug problem.
Jones tested positive for cocaine during a random urine test a month before his Jan. 3 title bout against Daniel Cormier at UFC 182, his eighth straight title defense. He was allowed to fight because cocaine is not a banned out-of-competition substance according to the World Anti-Doping Agency.
He was also fined $25,000 by the UFC for violating its athlete code of conduct.
Jones acknowledged using cocaine before and did not say what other drugs he has used. He also said he has never taken performance-enhancing drugs.
"I had done it quite a few times in college. I had experimented with it, but that's really it. It has never been an issue," Jones said. “I have dipped and dabbled in my share of partying."
"My friends and family know that there's no room in my life to be a cocaine addict," Jones added.
Jones denied that he left rehab after only one day, saying "Me going to rehab ... it was like a collective decision between myself and some of my business partners. They thought it would be good. I told them right away, 'I don't have a drug problem. I just got caught.'"
Jones said he was embarrassed about the situation.
"I just made a really dumb decision and got caught with my pants down in this whole situation," he said. "No excuse for it. I can just apologize."
- Scooby Axson
