Miesha Tate isn’t buying the “changed man” routine from Jon Jones anymore.
The retired former UFC bantamweight queen wasn’t impressed with Jones’ defense during his California State Athletic Commission hearing on Tuesday, where “Jonny Bones” expressed complete confusion as to how the anabolic steroid Turinabol got in his system just prior to UFC 214.
“To purposely do steroids like a week before a fight and ruin all those months talking to all those kids, it would just be stupid,” Jones said during the hearing. “I’m absolutely not the same person I was three years ago when I got into a hit-and-run car accident.
“You can call me many things. You can call me a party boy, wild child, knucklehead … but a cheater is something I will never admit to,” Jones later added. “That’s something I’ll never say that I am.”
Ultimately, the CSAC fined Jones $205,000 and revoked his license. Jones won’t be able to reapply for a license until August at the earliest. However, much depends on what type of sanction Jones receives from USADA. That case is still pending.
“The thing is, I don’t really care at this point if he comes back because I’ve lost the motivation and the interest, and the faith that I have in Jon Jones has been lost,” Tate said on MMA on Sirius XM. “Now maybe in three, four years, if he gets a great suspension, if he gets the book thrown at him and he really does make those changes, maybe he has a chance at restoring [his legacy], but at this point I just don’t care anymore. I don’t care. I’m over Jon Jones. I’m done with it.
“”I don’t really care at this point if he comes back”@MieshaTate explains to @RJcliffordMMA why she has no desire to see Jon Jones return to MMA anytime soon. pic.twitter.com/gCyq3N0mbB
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) February 28, 2018
Jones didn’t offer much in the way of a defense for his most recent failed test at the hearing, and he even acknowledged that his management signed documents for him regarding USADA tutorials that he failed to watch. Jones also tested positive for two estrogen blockers prior to UFC 200, and his status as a second-time offender could result in as long as a four-year suspension from USADA.
“I don’t want to hear his sob story. I felt sorry for the first, second time he kind of had me,” Tate said. “But it’s like, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, I mean, come on, am I waiting for a fourth now? I just don’t — I’m over it.
Of course, Jones also has more than just his anti-doping transgressions. He was stripped of his title in 2015 after being arrested for fleeing the scene of a hit-and-run accident that injured a pregnant woman. He was also previously arrested for driving under the influence and tested positive for cocaine in January 2015.
The cumulative effect of all these events have forced Tate to step back from any type of attachment to Jones, who could be the greatest pound-for-pound talent the sport has ever seen when everything is right. The problem is, very rarely is everything “right” regarding Jones anymore.
“I wish and I hope that it does change Jon Jones, but I’m also not invested in Jon Jones anymore,” Tate said. “I guess it’s what it is. I’m kind of checked out at this point. It’s just been too many times, too many instances. And I’ve heard this story one, two, three, four, five times already, so unless he shows me something different than just saying ‘I’m a changed man,’ he’s got to do a lot more to gain me back as a fan and to care to see him compete again. I just don’t want to be let down again.”