Jon Jones once admitted he gets ‘blacked out wasted’ one week before every fight so he has a built-in excuse for a potential loss.
‘Bones’ is arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time and the only defeat he’s ever suffered was when he was controversially disqualified from a fight he was dominating in December 2009.
After that, he became the youngest UFC champion in history by stopping Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua inside one to claim the light-heavyweight title in March 2011 when he was just 23 years old.
Twelve years later he’s a two-time 205lb champion who hasn't fought for three years as he’s been bulking up for his heavyweight debut which will come against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 on Saturday night.
After cementing his status as the best fighter in MMA, Jones went on Joe Rogan’s popular podcast in 2016 and discussed the weird ritual he did before each of his first 23 fights.
He revealed: "I had this crazy thing that I would do where I would party one week before every fight. And I did it throughout my whole career. And it was stupid, but it was this mental crutch that I had."
"I literally would, one week before every fight. I would go out and I would get blacked out wasted. And my logic was, if this guy were to beat me somehow, I can look myself in the mirror and say, the reason I lost is because I got hammered the week before the fight."
The 35-year-old learned that this approach may not be smart when he was pushed to the brink of defeat in his UFC 165 title defence against Alexander Gustafsson.
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It’s a fight remembered ten years later as one of the best title bouts of all time as Jones rallied in the final rounds to win a contentious unanimous decision and retain his belt before leaving the arena on a stretcher.
The second-highest-paid fighter on the UFC roster admitted that his partying was particularly bad in the build-up to his first fight with Gustafsson who he dominated in a rematch five years later.
Jones added: "I trained for the fight, but I definitely had this thing where I felt invincible. And I did a lot of wild stuff leading up to the fight. I definitely didn't give it my all. Really partying, drinking, staying up all night.
"My relationship with alcohol was never healthy, and I never went through a period in which I had a mature, healthy, responsible relationship with it."
Jones’ partying has gotten him into trouble on several occasions over the years.
In 2015, the UFC stripped him of his light-heavyweight title following a drunken hit-and-run car accident in New Mexico. He was arrested in 2020 for an aggravated DWI charge (driving while intoxicated) and for negligent use of a firearm.
After being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in September 2021 for his first fight with Gustafsson, Jones was arrested and charged with battery domestic violence, and injuring and tampering with a vehicle following a night of drinking.
Ahead of his heavyweight debut, it appears Jones has steered clear of alcohol as he focuses on preparing for the toughest test of his career in the healthiest way possible.
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