Jon Jones had a "built-in excuse" for every fight in case he lost, says Sean O'Malley

Jon Jones had an excuse ready for every one of his fights, per Sean O’Malley. In the most recent episode of his TimboSugarShow, the 27-year-old went on record to say that the former UFC light heavyweight titleholder was blacking out prior to his fights. All for having an excuse in case he lost the bout.

Sean O’Malley said:

“Jon Jones said he used to get blacked out a week before every fight just so he had an excuse to say well, and he still never lost. But he used to get blacked out before every fight a week before just to say, you know it wasn’t me at a hundred percent - built-in excuse.”

Watch Sean O’Malley talk about Jon Jones having excuses for every fight in the video below:

Jon Jones sports a professional record of 26 wins, one loss, and one NC. In his last fight, he defended his light heavyweight championship against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 back in 2020. Next, he vacated the belt in August and started a dispute about the payment with the promotion. During his hiatus, he announced that he is targeting a heavyweight debut fight against former champion Stipe Miocic.

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Jon Jones on getting blacked out prior to his fights

Jones' antics have been known for quite some time now. Considered one of the greatest MMA fighters in the history of the sport, he was thought to be sabotaging himself. This unhealthy, alcohol-influenced behavior led to a series of his run-ins with the law, which continues to this day.

Back in 2016, he was interviewed by Joe Rogan on JRE and had this to say:

“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."

He continued:

"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.”

This led to Jones constructing the well-known excuse in case he lost a fight:

“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.”

Watch Jon Jones talk about drinking to have an excuse in the video below:

Jones’ issues with alcohol became a regular occurrence. Back in 2012, he was arrested for DUI. He was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, install ignition interlocks, attend a victim impact class, and had his driving license suspended.

In 2021, he was arrested at the Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas under domestic violence charges. The charges were dropped, but Jones made a public statement that he quit drinking.