“It has been eventful, for sure.”
That is how Jon Jones sums up the chaotic last six months of his life.
In April, Bones ran from the scene of a crash in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that left a pregnant woman with a broken arm. He is currently serving 18 months of probation but is already plotting his comeback.
Jones admits it was a “weird night” watching Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier fight for his vacated light heavyweight belt, earlier this year, but feels his focus has returned. If his latest interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani is anything to go by, he certainly seems serene.
Getting back in the octagon would be a bonus and he is looking forward to putting the cherry on top of his already storied career.
For the first time, however, we get to hear Jones’ take on that fateful April 25 night.
He was watching UFC 186 with friends, in Montreal.
“I had a great night and ended up going to a bar afterwards,” he said. “I drank quite a bit; had a good time with the boys.
“After that, I got a ride to a house party; drank a little bit more and I decided to stay the night there.”
Jones continued, “The whole [party] was crazy… A lot of heavy drinking going on.
“I go to bed thinking [that] obviously you don’t drink and drive. A lot of my friends wouldn’t allow me to get another D.U.I (Driving Under the Influence).
“So I went to bed and got up the next morning. Everybody was gone from the house party. My boy and his wife were there and I’m thinking ‘Okay, this guy has a kid and a family. I obviously should leave this party because it’s not a party any more.
“I got in my car and I definitely still was really tired… I remember being at a red light; I had my music going and was texting on my cell-phone. I see the light go green and I assumed it was my green light. It was a green light for people going straight in traffic, and I was actually turning.
“I just stepped on the gas when I saw the green light and I drove right into oncoming traffic.”
Jones’ actions caused a three-car accident. Asked what was going through his mind at the time, he answered:
“It all happened so fast. Initially, I knew I messed up. Big time.
“First, I realised I wasn’t hurt… I thought ‘Nobody has gotten hurt. Maybe we didn’t hit that hard’.
“I thought to myself ‘Man, I went out last night; I haven’t been home yet; I probably still smell like the night before. I need to get myself out of here. This is going to be terrible. This is going to be messy. I’ve got to go’.
“I was afraid, man. I freaked out. I didn’t want to talk to the police at the time so I thought I’d get away from this.”
Jones refutes the claims that he ran back to his rental car to remove a large sum of money before he fled the scene.
“That never happened. That’s not accurate… My money is in cash deposits and investments and sh*t.
“I just had tunnel vision man.”
After getting five yards from his career, Jones remembered that he had a marijuana bowl resting in his car’s cup holder. He returned to the vehicle to grab it as ‘everything would be much worse’ if it was discovered by police.
Jones says he only discovered that a pregnant woman was involved in the crash when he got back to his hotel. His wife rang him to tell him what happened and told him to Google his own name.
He followed that advice, cried for hours after that and eventually rang a lawyer. “At no point was I hiding from the police,” he declared.
