Just a few days after his successful title defense against Daniel Cormier at UFC 182, Jon Jones tested positive for cocaine metabolites and was admitted into a drug rehabilitation center in the immediate aftermath of the announcement. It was a scandal that took the MMA community by surprise and led to some intriguing quotes from former and active fighters alike.
Pat Miletich, a one-time UFC welterweight champion, was simply astonished that Jones had tampered with such a "destructive" drug.
"I was very surprised that he tested positive for cocaine," Miletich told Submission Radio. "I mean cocaine is such a destructive drug and such a nasty addiction that people can get into. I've not seen it amongst a lot of athletes and certainly not guys that are good at MMA. It's such a bad drug that I'm shocked that someone who's that good of an athlete and is able to perform at that level is doing it."
The former champion blames the friend group surrounding Jones for his recent slip.
"Who are Jon Jones' handlers that are allowing him to hang with out with people that are giving him cocaine at, whether it's parties or wherever the hell he's at in the first place? So that's another thing, that people who are around him that realize that there's a problem need to say "listen, you need to maybe look at getting different representation, hanging out with a different group of people" and that's something that has to come about."
While Jones' friends may not be directly impacting his drug use, according to Miletich, they are not doing enough to keep him out of trouble.
"You never want to be surrounded by a bunch of yes men; and I think I was lucky in that aspect where the friends that I had, that I hung out with, if I did anything that was going to be a mistake and detrimental to my life, they'd had no problem calling me out on it. And you know that's a true friend. Someone that will get in your face and say "listen, you may be the world champ, but you're screwing up your life right now. And you need to wake up" and that's important.
So I think that some of those people that are around Jon, need to evaluate what people in that group need to go."
Transcription taken from Submission Radio.
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