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By Peter Carroll

It has been a hectic 12 months for Jon Jones. 

From his well-publicized hit-and-run in April 2015 to the UFC suspension and title-stripping that followed, Jones' return to the Octagon last weekend marked the end of a spell that the interim champion would rather forget. 

Since his tentative display against Ovince Saint Preux, Dana White confirmed to Good Morning America that the light-heavyweight fighter will meet Daniel Cormier in the main event of what the promotion hopes will be the biggest date in their history, UFC 200. 

Indeed, the famine of jilted superstar Conor McGregor appears to be Jones’ feast. That said, it's unlikely that the newly crowned interim champ will forget how his employers treated him when everything came to a head last year. UFC waited to confirm that Jones had been involved in the fender bender with Albuquerque police before it made a call. But, when it did, it didn’t shy away from an extreme punishment. 

A suspension was expected, but UFC came down hard on Jones; his positive test for cocaine metabolites leading up to UFC 182 didn’t help the situation. Although the NSAC eventually struck the finding down due to a flaw in "administrative oversight," White seemed genuinely worried his star. 

“This is one of those situations where it’s so different than if a guy gets busted for performance-enhancing drugs,” White said on FOX Sports 1. “You worry about the person first, you forget about the fighting and the work side of it and worry about the person, Jon Jones the person.”

Jones fled the scene of his crash in April and marijuana was found in the car that he left behind—perhaps the presence of yet another illegal substance aggravated the UFC's response. But with authorities involved and all of his major deals retreating in an instant, the UFC suspension and title revocation seemed necessarily harsh.

“UFC feels strongly that its athletes must uphold certain standards both in and out of the Octagon. While there is disappointment in the recent charges, the organization remains supportive of Jones as he works through the legal process,” the UFC said in a statement. 

After Jones was reinstated by the promotion in October, he told Ariel Helwani that he didn’t feel much support from the organization during his hiatus. In fact, he seemed to suggest he was stripped of his title because he didn’t want to fight Anthony Johnson at UFC 187. 

“Obviously, they would have the power to say differently, but I really have a feeling that if I was ready to fight, they would have let me fight,” Jones told Helwani. “Especially because there was no court date. I wasn't proven guilty of anything at the time. I feel as if they would have let me fight. For sure.” 

He added: “They told me, 'We’re probably gonna strip you of the title and suspend you indefinitely.' I said, ‘Honestly, I (couldn't give less of) a f---.’ That’s actually what I said. Sure enough, they took the belt and they did what they had to do. Shortly after, it really hit me that I didn’t have the belt anymore. That was a long day for me.” 

The MMA world was eagerly anticipating Jones’ return last week, but by the time UFC 197 media day came around, the attention was firmly fixed on the ever-escalating standoff between McGregor and White. Would White allow the Irishman to reclaim his main event slotting? Even before he made his return, White announced that a rematch between Jones and Cormier could replace the initial main event for July 9. 

On Wednesday morning, the confirmation of Jones as UFC 200’s headliner came on the broadcast of Good Morning America. 

“There have been some crazy things that have gone on,” White said in relation to putting UFC 200 together during the UFC segment on the show. “Some ups and downs. Jon Jones just fought on Saturday night and won his fight against OSP. He’s been out for 15 months, and now he's back, and he wants his light-heavyweight UFC title back. So the main event will be Daniel Cormier versus Jon Jones.”

From promotional bad boy to the savior of their marquee event, Jones has had quite a turnaround in fortunes. However, he only has to look as far as the last golden boy of the banner, McGregor, to realize how quickly his fortunes could change in the future. 


@PetesyCarroll