Jon Jones admits he 'cheated' in UFC fight and apologises to opponent

Jon Jones has admitted that he cheated in his UFC title fight against Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson in September 2011.

For many UFC fans, Jones is considered to be the greatest mixed martial artist ever to step foot in an octagon following a career that saw him pick up 28 wins with just one loss.

However, any discussion regarding Jones' place in the UFC GOAT debate has to consider the various controversies surrounding the American's time in the sport.

Jones tested positive for banned substances three times during his UFC career, two of which were performance enhancing drugs taken before his fights with historic rival Daniel Cormier.

Many of Jones’ old opponents have claimed that he cheated in their bouts, with Jackson often stating that his rival had fought dirty with legal, but dangerous moves during their bout for the light heavyweight title.

And now, nearly 15 years later, Jones admitted to cheating in the fight with his former foe when bumping into Jackson backstage at the recent Ronda Rousey v Gina Carano event in Los Angeles.

Jackson, who was submitted by Jones via rear-naked choke in the fourth round, has claimed that his opponent used moves like oblique kicks or illegal eye pokes to get an advantage in their fight.

Despite this, when the pair met up it appeared that there was no bad blood, Jackson jokingly said: “They call you two-poke champ, bro."

While gesturing a double eye poke, Jones admitted to his dirty fighting style, saying: "You know how I get down… Yeah I cheat. I’ll poke you in the eye, I’ll kick you in the b****s, I’ll stomp the knees."

But it appeared that last comment hit home for Jackson, who joked that his knees were still hurt from their fight, prompting Jones to apologise to his former opponent admitting it was ‘my bad’.

The pair then buried the hatcher, agreeing that ‘what happens in the cage stays in the cage’ before moving on.

Jon Jones claims Rousey v Carano was 'better than the UFC'

But that wasn't the only drama that Jones was involved in during the Rousey v Carano card as he also made some bold claims about the success of the event on social media.

In a clip shared on Most Valuable Promotions’ Instagram, the former two-weight UFC champion praised the organisation's debut MMA event, claiming it was even better than his former employer.

“I thought the MVP promotion was absolutely unbelievable,” Jones said.

“I think it was actually better than the UFC and everything.

“I’ve never been at such a promotion, I mean, they had the fog machines and TVs absolutely everywhere. Great fighters.”

Jones' claims came after he spoke on the live broadcast of the card suggesting that he would like to be released from his UFC contract, which still has six fights remaining on it, to potentially fight Francis Ngannou on an MVP event in the future.