Jon Jones: I totally had a drug problem

In a solid new interview, stripped former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones admits that the type of partying he did the night of UFC 186, immediately preceding a hit-and-run accident he was involved in, and just a month before he was set to defend his belt against Anthony Johnson, was not a rare happening. "Yeah, it was common for me," he recently told MMA Fighting.

"I was a guy who loved to party. I was able to win my fights and I felt as though it really wasn't affecting me that bad. I would go out on the weekend and then on Monday morning I'd be the first guy at practice, working harder than everybody else. So, I felt as though I could get away with that."

Jones did concede to thinking about what he may be able to accomplish if he were healthier and more responsible, but as long as he kept winning, he didn't see the issue being that important.

"I had a lot of my mentors, coaches, and friends that would tell me that. Like, 'Jon, you party with the best of them and you still are able to be one of the top fighters in the world.' But, at the time I really didn't feel as if it was an issue. I was winning my fights. I had finished half of my opponents since I'd been a champion. Very few guys have gone to decision with me. Those guys were some of the top guys in light heavyweight history. So, I felt no pressure to really stop being such a wild guy because of how well everything was going."

Jones went on to say that one of his worst camp-long benders came before what would become his most challenging and close fight. In September 2013, Jones was pushed to a very close five-round decision against Alexander Gustafsson.

Gustafsson controlled the first three rounds, and most of the fourth, until Jones was able to use his striking power to turn the tide in his favor. "I had a lot of fun that camp," he admitted.

"I just felt in no way, shape, or form did he have what it took to beat me. Sure enough, after round two, I was pretty gassed out. That was the first time in my whole career being tired in the second round. It just went to show that my cardio, my focus, everything, it just wasn't there."

When Jones gutted out the fight and got the judges' decision, his arrogance worsened. "Honestly, it was a part of the problem," he reasoned.

"I partied my tail off for Gustafsson, I almost lose but obviously still win the fight, and I won the fight knowing that I didn't deserve to win that fight. That really was what lead me to not taking anything seriously.

"I really developed the attitude of, 'I can have fun and still do my job.'"

Jones claimed that things have changed, now. Though he still insists that cocaine use wasn't regular, insinuating that he used it for the first and only time right before the Nevada Athletic Commission tested him and found it in his system, Jones does now admit that he had an addiction to marijuana and a problem with alcohol.

"I don't drink anymore. I don't smoke marijuana anymore ... It has been maybe three or four months, now," he said.

Jones went on to describe himself as a man who was once an addict, but now is not. That's not really the language or perspective often used by people in recovery, however.

Furthermore, Jones insisted that going cold-turkey is "not difficult."

"I'm honestly excited to be set free from that. It took me a long time to acknowledge that I had a little bit of a problem because I was able to take care of my family. I was able to win fights. I was able to pretty much hide it from the world, that I was smoking pot and drinking three or four days a week. I was handling my life so I didn't think I had a problem.

"But now that I'm completely sober, I totally had a problem."

Jones is sad about all he wasted while using, but said he's glad to have gone through the changes he has since his most recent car accident.

"I'm upset about all the hours I spent being under the influence, and all the hours I spent getting under the influence," he said.

"My life has changed for the better in so many different ways since this car accident. I'm grateful for it."