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He may only be a promoter, but when it comes to Jon Jones, Dana White doesn’t pull any punches. After all, following Jones’ most recent self-destruction, failing a USADA drug test for his rematch with Daniel Cormier at UFC 214, the UFC president called Jones the biggest waste of talent in the history of sports. But as Jones prepares for his hearing with the California Athletic Commission in December, White appears to be adopting a more analytical bent towards assessing Jones and why trouble has followed him throughout his career.
Speaking recently on The Jim Rome Show, White fielded questions from Rome about the former two-time light heavyweight champion, saying that he didn’t believe money was the driving force behind Jones’ troubles but that they exacerbated his already wild personality.
“I don’t know. He’s not a ‘just about the money’ type guy. He’s really not that kind of guy. I just think that Jon likes to party and he’s a guy that likes to go out and have fun and do whatever it is that he does, and I think the money and the fame made it a thousand times worse.
“This guy couldn’t control himself and would completely go off the deep end. I’m not sitting here acting like Mr. Holier-than-thou, we’ve all gone and had fun and probably partied a little too much here and there, but he consistently, consistently kept doing it. Even when he would completely f**k up, he would pull himself together and come out and completely f**k up again. Even this last time when he came back, fans forgave and he was the most popular fighter and everybody wanted to see this guy succeed, and he did it again. It’s just unbelievable.”
Jones is facing up to a four-year long suspension for this most recent drug test failure. He previously failed a test ahead of his planned fight with Daniel Cormier at UFC 200, ultimately getting suspended for a year as a result.
But perhaps more concerning than the drug test failures are Jones’ legal troubles. In 2012, Jones was arrested on DWI charges in upstate New York but was given no jail time. Then, in 2015, Jones plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received 18 months probation. Next year, Jones was arrested for violating his probation after being pulled over for drag racing. Jones would go on to accept a plea deal in this case, again avoiding jail time. White says these problems are more instructive than the USADA failures as to the mind of Jones because the consequences are more severe. When faced with actions that could put him in prison, Jones kept doing “whatever it is that he does,” leading White to opine that Jones cannot do better, calling the former champion “unfixable.”
“Even worse than that, this guy was looking at jail time. This judge gave him another shot and this guy was looking at some serious jail time and a lot of bad stuff and that still didn’t wake him up. If that’s not a wake-up call, you’re unfixable.”
Apparently Jones doesn’t agree with White though. Yesterday he posted on his Instagram a video of him hitting mitts with the hashtags “Day 1” and “Pick Yourself Up and Start Again”.
If Jones does return from yet another self-inflicted setback, White’s belief that the Jon Jones story “will be a great 30 for 30 someday” could more true than even he realized at the time.
Speaking recently on The Jim Rome Show, White fielded questions from Rome about the former two-time light heavyweight champion, saying that he didn’t believe money was the driving force behind Jones’ troubles but that they exacerbated his already wild personality.
“I don’t know. He’s not a ‘just about the money’ type guy. He’s really not that kind of guy. I just think that Jon likes to party and he’s a guy that likes to go out and have fun and do whatever it is that he does, and I think the money and the fame made it a thousand times worse.
“This guy couldn’t control himself and would completely go off the deep end. I’m not sitting here acting like Mr. Holier-than-thou, we’ve all gone and had fun and probably partied a little too much here and there, but he consistently, consistently kept doing it. Even when he would completely f**k up, he would pull himself together and come out and completely f**k up again. Even this last time when he came back, fans forgave and he was the most popular fighter and everybody wanted to see this guy succeed, and he did it again. It’s just unbelievable.”
Jones is facing up to a four-year long suspension for this most recent drug test failure. He previously failed a test ahead of his planned fight with Daniel Cormier at UFC 200, ultimately getting suspended for a year as a result.
But perhaps more concerning than the drug test failures are Jones’ legal troubles. In 2012, Jones was arrested on DWI charges in upstate New York but was given no jail time. Then, in 2015, Jones plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received 18 months probation. Next year, Jones was arrested for violating his probation after being pulled over for drag racing. Jones would go on to accept a plea deal in this case, again avoiding jail time. White says these problems are more instructive than the USADA failures as to the mind of Jones because the consequences are more severe. When faced with actions that could put him in prison, Jones kept doing “whatever it is that he does,” leading White to opine that Jones cannot do better, calling the former champion “unfixable.”
“Even worse than that, this guy was looking at jail time. This judge gave him another shot and this guy was looking at some serious jail time and a lot of bad stuff and that still didn’t wake him up. If that’s not a wake-up call, you’re unfixable.”
Apparently Jones doesn’t agree with White though. Yesterday he posted on his Instagram a video of him hitting mitts with the hashtags “Day 1” and “Pick Yourself Up and Start Again”.
If Jones does return from yet another self-inflicted setback, White’s belief that the Jon Jones story “will be a great 30 for 30 someday” could more true than even he realized at the time.
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