'I was afraid I'd fail my test': UFC star Jon Jones admits to HIDING under cage to avoid drug testers after smoking marijuana

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has confirmed one of the sport's most infamous rumors as he admitted that he hid under a cage in his gym to avoid drug-testers shortly after smoking a marijuana cigarette.

Jones, who has drawn the ire of the UFC's drug-testers on more than one occasion, had long been linked to the story, which was initially reported by Deadspin in 2015, which stated that Jones panicked when a tester showed up at his gym unannounced.

As recounted by Chael Sonnen on a 2016 episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, he said that Jones panicked when he saw a drug-tester arrive.

"They hide him underneath the cage. Jon Jones hides under the cage," Sonnen explained to Rogan.

"They say, ‘Jon? We don’t know where he is,’ and this is before we were enrolled in the program and he did not need to disclose his whereabouts. At the same time, if they show up and find you, you must test.

"If they can’t find you, you didn’t have to test back then. They wanted to get a warrant to go under that ring, under the theory that at some point in that six-to-eight hour span, he would have had to pee. They wanted to go under forensically and collect that urine. That’s how upset they were that they had been had."

Jones' coaches have long denied the story, branding it little more than an MMA version of an urban myth, but as part of his on-going social media feud with middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, Jones appeared to confirm the story for the first time.

Responding to a jibe from Adesanya who detailed how he once slept under the cage to save gas money instead of going home and referenced the rumors of Jones hiding from a drug-test, Jones said: "I was hiding from Nevada State Athletic Commission, not USADA, and that was years ago. I had just smoked a blunt and was afraid I would fail my test for weed, that’s the actual truth. Now everyone knows everyone."

Jones has been involved in several drug scandals and has previously tested positive for outlawed substances turinabol, clomiphene, letrozole, as well as the "picogram" saga that threatened to derail his career.

It remains to be seen if the UFC, or even USADA or the Nevada State Athletic Commission, will react to Jones admitting that he hid from a drug test, but at least fight fans finally know the truth regarding one of the sport's most infamous stories.