The Savage Truth: Jon Jones ... To Be Continued

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I have worn calluses into my fingertips typing about Jon Jones over the last few years, but since I’m a glutton for punishment, I’ll take another stab at it after his 65-minute walk through the woods with Ariel Helwani. First off, let me make this crystal clear: Those with an opinion on whether or not Jones has done what needs to be done to clean up his life are just throwing darts in the dark.

We’re seven months out from his hit-and-run accident and flight-from-the-scene-hiding-in-a-hotel-room saga. No one who has the systemic issues Jones obviously had has had the time to prove one way or the other where he is at in his metamorphosis. We don’t even truly know if he has changed at all at this point.

I will say this for the former UFC light heavyweight champ: He did a pretty good job of being the real Jon Jones -- the one I’ve talked to and heard about from his teammates and coaches -- on camera. There was a hint of the vulnerability that some of his teammates talk about when they describe him, and it was good to see that side of him come out.

I had to laugh when he mentioned people calling him fake. He seemed indignant at that assertion but then quickly admitted he was being a fake. I see that as the quintessential Jones, the person who wants everyone to think he could not care less about what people think about him when in reality it’s obvious the barbs and zingers are finding a very susceptible mark.

We also saw some of the tone-deaf Jones we’ve seen in the past peeking out during the interview. I don’t recall hearing him show any concern for the woman he crashed into. I didn’t hear him say how sorry he was for her; he mainly focused on how bad it was for him. With that said, I know Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s going to take time and a lot of effort for Jones to polish up the proverbial turd his public persona has become. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on a meandering hour-plus interview in which he wasn’t specifically asked about his victim’s wellbeing.

While I really don’t buy his “I only did the cocaine that one day and the NSAC showed up the next day” defense, it was enlightening to hear him say he’s addicted to marijuana. I’d be lying if I didn’t say the rumors of his love of the hippy lettuce didn’t permeate the MMA community. It was pretty much common knowledge that the onetime champion liked to party.

I talked about it in relation to his near-loss against Alexander Gustafsson. I had been told by people at the Jackson-Wink MMA camp that Jones trained about “10 minutes” for that fight and that it had been a big-time wakeup call for him. Well, apparently it was not that big of a wakeup call, seeing as though he got busted for white medicine a little over a year later. I’m hopeful this time Jones has taken his problems to heart and decided to do what it takes to put them in his rearview mirror.

One of those problems is the age-old issue for all people who find themselves with newfound fame and wealth: the hangers on. These are the people who are terrified to speak the truth to their famous friends. They watch the train come clean off the rails and then tell them their actions are OK, even forgivable.

Prior to UFC 193, we saw Ronda Rousey’s mother lament the crew that has saddled up to her daughter; this is not an uncommon tale, even in the small pond we call MMA. The Yes Men, the enablers, the fake friends along for the ride, are the biggest threats to someone like Jones, who is trying to clean up his act. What he needs are people to call him on his bulls---, to point him back in the right direction when he inevitably stumbles like we all do. Everything else is window dressing if he doesn’t send the wolves packing.

Like I mentioned in the opening, no one -- not even the man himself -- knows where Jones is going to end up in six months, a year or a lifetime from now. This is a process, one that seems to have gotten off to a pretty positive start but a process nonetheless. It’s going to take a long time for him to prove he is a changed man.

I’ve been pretty hard on Jones over the past seven months and would argue he deserved every ounce of scrutiny he has gotten, but I’ll admit I do like what I’ve seen from him thus far. I’ve also heard encouraging news from his camp and some of his teammates that lends credence to the narrative that he’s making positive progress and maturing as a man.

That’s good news for the former champ and for MMA. He is undoubtedly, in my mind anyway, the greatest fighter our young sport has seen. It would be a shame if he devolved into nothing more than a cautionary tale about excess. I’d much rather have a redemption story for the ages to trumpet.

Greg Savage is the executive editor of Sherdog.com and can be reached by email or via Twitter @TheSavageTruth.