Jon Jones Says He’s Learned His Lesson From First Gustafsson Fight

Jon Jones wants to give his professional mixed martial arts career the respect he feels it deserves.

Jones will be returning to action on Dec. 29. He’ll go one-on-one with Alexander Gustafsson in a rematch to headline UFC 232. This bout will be contested for the UFC light heavyweight championship. The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada will play host to this event.

Jones hasn’t been shy about his partying days just ahead of his title defense against Gustafsson back in Sept. 2013. To this day, the first bout with “The Mauler” was Jones’ toughest test and while it was a unanimous decision win, the bout was certainly close. Speaking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, “Bones” said he’s learned his lesson:

“The guy that fought Gustafsson the first time was right in the heyday of all his crap, as far as just being a party boy, mainly. Being on top of the world; not many things have happened to my life at that point. So, I was just really on top of the world, just feeling invincible. Opposed to the guy that you see now, I feel like I’ve been through a lot. I’ve learned a lot. And I just feel like I appreciate the sport a lot more than used to. Having it be taken away from you and losing it, it teaches you how much it means to you. And this sport does mean a lot to me, I was extremely sad without it. Now that I have the opportunity to be back here in the UFC, I feel like I will treat it with so much more respect.”

UFC 232’s co-main event will also feature a title bout. Women’s featherweight ruler Cris Cyborg will put her gold on the line against women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Stick with MMA News for the latest updates on UFC 232.