Jon Jones finally confessed to a long-standing rumor about an incident before one of his biggest fights.
During a heated Twitter exchange with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, Jones confirmed a tale from former rival Chael Sonnen that led to much speculation. During an appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast four years ago, Sonnen stated that Jones hid under the cage during a training session at the Jackson Wink MMA gym in New Mexico to avoid a drug test ahead of his first fight with Daniel Cormier at UFC 183 in January 2015.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion fessed up and admitted to hiding under the cage because he would have failed the test that would have been administered under the Nevada State Athletic Commission. But not because of performance-enhancing drugs, as some speculated. Instead, it was for marijuana.
“I was hiding from Nevada State Athletic Commission, not USADA and that was years ago,” Jones said. “I had just smoked a blunt and was afraid I would fail my test for weed.
“That’s the actual truth. Now everyone knows everyone.”
Jones went on to hand Cormier his first loss at UFC 183 via unanimous decision. A week after the fight, it was announced that Jones had tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine a month before the bout. Jones decided to enter a rehabilitation facility but left after only one day.
It was an odd admission from Jones, but the beef with Adesanya has turned personal as each has traded barbs about their parents, drug testing, and personal insults about one another.
Does that mean a clash between the two of the sports' brightest talents will happen soon? Adesanya has said he wants to clean out the middleweight division before moving up weight, while Jones relinquished the light heavyweight title with plans of moving up to heavyweight.
Here is the full exchange on Thursday leading up to Jones' admission.