Jon Jones knows he’s made a ton of mistakes throughout his career in the UFC.

The turning point for him came in 2015, when Jones slammed into two other drivers and fled the scene in a hit-and-run accident that could have ended with him in jail. It ultimately cost him his light heavyweight title as well as 18 months on probation for the altercation.

It was that moment when Jones says he really began to make serious changes in his life. The former champion devoted himself to getting sober while dedicating himself to living up to the moniker of being the most talented fighter who has ever competed in UFC.

Jones was set to face Daniel Cormier at UFC 200 with a chance to reclaim the title.

Then the bottom fell out.

It was revealed just days before the event that Jones had tested positive for a banned substance and he was being pulled from the fight with Cormier. A tearful Jones answered questions later that day while he continued to express confusion about what caused the positive drug test.

Jones was suspended for a year by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after it was discovered an off-brand erectile dysfunction drug he had taken was tainted with the anti-estrogen substances that resulted in the positive drug test.

“I did a lot of work to get back to UFC 200. A lot of cleaning up my life and my circle and just a lot of work. To fall back so far because a damn sex pill and to have people kind of assume that your life isn’t together, it was very hurtful,” Jones said last weekend at a press conference before UFC 210. “It was very hurtful that people saw me as this guy who was just f—ed up.”

The turning point, Jones says, was the early-morning accident in 2015 that ended with him surrendering to police after a warrant for his arrest was issued.

“The truth of the matter is, I’ve had my life pretty together for about the last two years. Ever since that hit-and-run, a lot has changed in my life,” Jones said. “If I hadn’t have taken that sex pill, I would be looked at as I would be the champion again currently. The belt would be right here. I would have won at UFC 200 and people would have already been saying, ‘Wow, it’s so great to see the way Jon has turned his life around and he’s doing the right things and he’s becoming a man in front of our eyes.’

“But instead, that one damn pill, it makes people think I still don’t have the belt right now. I’ve fought once in two years and the consensus is that I’m this guy who can’t get his s–t together. I feel like my s–t been together for quite a long time, and I’m just excited to let the belt be a reflection of how I’ve got my life back together.”

Jones says he had no idea the positive drug test had anything to do with the erectile dysfunction medication he had taken because that’s been a regular practice for him throughout his UFC career.

“I have been in the UFC for many, many years and I’ve taken sex pills several times throughout my adult life. Highly recommend it, guys. F—ing great. I never failed a drug test. Never once failed a drug test,” Jones said. “I just knew it couldn’t have been that. I really didn’t understand what it was.”

The positive drug test resulted in Jones missing out on UFC 200 and facing a one-year suspension. He says that devastating moment ultimately served as one more gigantic wake-up call.

“Bad luck for sure. That sex pill was intended for one act. So it was just like, ‘How in the hell does this happen?’ Definitely bad luck,” Jones said. “Dumb on my part because I probably should have taken the rules a lot more serious and literally had everything tested. I just figured this was safe because it had nothing to do with sports performance, it’s sexual performance.

“Just dumb on my part for not taking the rules as serious as I should have. Now I literally, I take USADA very seriously, I report everything I’m taking, I let them know everywhere I’m going to be.”

Now Jones says he is more determined than ever before to reclaim his throne as the best in the world and use this past year off as another lesson learned.

“I’m a very optimistic person,” Jones explained. “I’m the type of guy that knows that I can fight through any situation, very hard to be broken and defeated. And I know with time and a certain amount of energy, you can get past any obstacle, so I just tried to look at the whole situation as it was meant to be.

“That’s the way that I honestly feel right now.”