Jon Jones Apologized To UFC 232 Fighters, Held An Impromptu Meet-And-Greet With Fans
Jon Jones abnormal drug test caused a lot of controversies since NSAC declined to grant him license for fighting. CSAC accepted to allow Jones to fight after he enrolled in VADA testing. It made him the first fighter who takes part in both USADA and VADA testing program.
Dana White had no choice but to move the event from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Inglewood, California, on very short notice. “High taxes” in “The Golden State” made many fighters angry, especially Amanda Nunes.
UFC 232 gladiators will lose 9.25-13 percent of their purse because of different tax policy!
Don’t forget the fans were frustrated too, and “ruined” UFC’s Christmas wish!
But it looks like Jon Jones wasn’t guilty. Dana White claims he did nothing wrong this time. Andy Foster, CSAC executive officer, also believes Jon Jones is clean. He said that the amount of Turinabol in Jones’ body was too small to cause performance-enhancing qualities.
“Bones” took on himself to excuse face-to-face to as many UFC 232 fighters as possible for the whole fiasco. (h/t MMAMania.com)
“I feel good. I really can’t afford to feel any other way. I feel bad for the fans. I went around today apologizing to every UFC fighter that was on the card that I’ve seen in person,” Jones told MMA Junkie. “So far, they’ve all said that they’ve forgiven me, and I think I need to prioritize my emotions and save all the emotions for after the fight. After the fight, I definitely plan on doing what I can do to give back to fans who really lost out.”
Jon Jones also took time off from his busy fight week and held an impromptu meet-and-greet with fans. It happened inside of MGM Grand Garden, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He announced “the event” on his Instagram profile previously.
TONIGHT!!! 7:00-7:45pm MGM Grand Main Lobby. Free meet and greet. Be there Las Vegas. #UFC232
Actually, Jon Jones was surprised and felt upset when he heard the news.
“Honestly, my initial reaction was ‘not again,’” Jones admitted. “It felt like a nightmare, but honestly, I think my faith in God has really, really helped me out with this situation, just believing that, ‘Hey, listen, this is all what my story is going to be. Just be with me, God, through it all, and keep me strong to handle all this.’ Some things are out of my control, and you’ve just got to learn to focus on what you can control,” he added.
Jon Jones continued.
“Another thing I’ve done is to be able to lean on my team. So many people stepped up and wrote me the most positive things, and all the messages were pretty much the same. ‘You can’t afford to get emotionally weak this close to the fight. Stay focused. Stay strong, and believe that this is just meant to be and let go, let God, and do your best. Control what you can control,’ and that’s what I’m doing.”
Jon Jones will face Alexander Gustafsson at the main event of UFC 232 on Saturday night. The two already fought at UFC 165 when Jones won via tight unanimous decision. What do you think, will “Viking” avenge this loss and win the UFC Light Heavyweight title?
