Jon Jones: DUI Charge 'Set Me Free' From Public Perception

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones sat down with Joe Rogan for a special interview where he discussed his May DUI charge. Jones will face Vitor Belfort later tonight in the main event of UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort.

"My DUI set me free," Jones said. "It set me free from a lot of expectations. I was trying to be perfect for people. That's why people called me fake. I was trying to be the golden boy of the UFC."

The incident went away for the most part, especially after the fiasco that became UFC 151. Jones declined a fight with Chael Sonnen that would have allowed the UFC to not cancel the card completely.

"I believe in some cases that MMA fans, and sports fans in general, have short memories," Jones said. "I was embarrassed for all the people that stand behind me (of the DUI charge). That's who I was embarrassed for."

Jones added that the biggest lesson he learned himself was that "things could have gone wrong, I could have hurt someone; I could be dead."

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