J. Jones returns after being suspended for 15 months by USADA. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @jonnybones
The reunion between Jon Jones e Alexander Gustafson will take place in the main fight of UFC 232, on December 29th. With less than two weeks to go before the clash, Jon Jones recalled the first fight with the Swede in September 2013 at UFC 165. 'Bones' beat 'Mauler' by unanimous decision. In an interview with the Combate channel website, the former light heavyweight champion revealed that in the first fight he was at the height of his 'party behavior' and spent half the camp drunk.
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“I was at the height of my party behavior, I woke up very late, I missed training, I was partying all the time. I was drunk for half of training camp. And I still came away with the victory. I want him to realize that he fought a watered down version of me against the absolute best version of himself and yet he lost. But now he and I are going to be in the best shape of both of us and I want to see how he does,” Jones said.
Even treating his rival with disdain, 'Bones' admits that the duel with Gustafsson was the most difficult of his career. After that confrontation, Jones stated that he changed the way he acted during training.
“I believed I was not human and Gustafsson showed me that I am very human. God can give you talent, but if you don't strive and work to maintain it, it's worthless. They say that hard work beats talent if you're not trying, and I was very close to losing there. It was something that changed me forever, after that fight I started paying much more attention to others. That’s when I realized I wasn’t invincible,” Jon said.
The fight at UFC 232 will be Jones' first after being suspended for 15 months by USADA. Jon's last performance was in July 2017, when he knocked out Daniel Cormier and regained the belt, but was deposed again due to problems outside the octagon. 'Bones' defended his title on eight occasions.
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