Dana White: ‘Imagine How Amazing Jon Jones Could’ve Been If He Tried’
Dana White has had a turbulent relationship with Jon Jones, but the UFC President believes that the former UFC light heavyweight champion could’ve been the biggest star in MMA history had he kept out of trouble.
Jones has been in no shortage of controversies over the years and has been stripped of the UFC light heavyweight title on no fewer than three occasions.
Speaking on the MMA Roasted podcast, White said Jones’ never ending troubles stopped him from reaching the heights of stardom that his talent could’ve elevated him to.
“The whole Jon Jones thing drives me crazy,” White said.
“Honestly, Jon Jones, he’s the greatest of all time, he’s the greatest to ever do it.
“The thing that’s really frustrating is, imagine if this guy tried. Imagine if he tried just a little bit. Just imagine how incredibly amazing he could’ve been. He could’ve been the biggest star ever.
“God knows what he would’ve accomplished in the light heavyweight division and then in the heavyweight division.
“Maybe he would’ve had a title defence record at light heavyweight that would’ve never been broken and the endorsements that he could’ve f***ing… everything that guy could’ve been is unbelievable.”
Back in 2015, Jones was stripped of the title for the first time when he was arrested on felony hit-and-run charges stemming back to an incident that took place on the day after UFC 186.
Jones was then cited by USADA for a doping violation for the first time in 2016, just 48-hours priors to his scheduled bout with Daniel Cormier at UFC 200 and was subsequently stripped of his interim UFC light heavyweight title.
He then made another return in 2017, but was cited for another violation of the USADA anti-doping program after beating Cormier at UFC 217 in August. Jones was then stripped of a third title and placed on a provisional suspension.
Jones is currently awaiting his official hearing to find out the length of his latest ban.
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