Jon Jones’ big toe back where it belongs after nasty injury in win over Sonnen

TORONTO – The last time MMA fans saw Jon (Bones) Jones in the cage, the UFC light-heavyweight champion’s left big toe looked at if it had been screwed on in the wrong direction.

Jones didn’t even realize it until he looked down as he was about to be interviewed in the Octagon after his UFC 159 TKO win in April over Chael Sonnen.

“When my adrenalin comes down I’m going to be in some pain tonight,” he said with a strained smile.

The dislocated toe was popped back into place in the cage. But he had stripped virtually all the ligaments on the right side of the toe.

“That’s why it (the toe) was able to go over to the right so far,” Jones said in an interview. “The ligaments were destroyed. But they healed back together great.”

Jones, who consulted a number of doctors, did not need surgery. But he still faced three to four months before it was fully healed. Jones wore a boot and was on antibiotics to prevent infection while trying to ensure he didn’t stub the toe.

“I was just super-careful,” he said.

He was not confined to his house, however.

“I went to Miami,” he said. “Partied with a boot on.”

He credited his fiancee and friends for helping support him back home while he rehabbed.

Jones (18-1) steps back into the cage Saturday when he faces Sweden’s Alexander (The Mauler) Gustafsson (15-1) at UFC 165 in Toronto.