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Jon Jones has seen the backlash regarding the UFC’s decision to move Saturday’s UFC 232 event from Las Vegas to Southern California, and while it wasn’t his decision to make, “Bones” said he’s taking responsibility for his part, even as he prepares for his world title fight with Alexander Gustafsson.

“I feel good,” Jones today told MMAjunkie. “I really can’t afford to feel any other way. I feel bad for the fans. I went around today apologizing to every UFC fighter that was on the card that I’ve seen in person. So far, they’ve all said that they’ve forgiven me, and I think I need to prioritize my emotions and save all the emotions for after the fight. After the fight, I definitely plan on doing what I can do to give back to fans who really lost out.”

Jones (22-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) and Gustafsson (18-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) meet for the UFC light heavyweight title in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 232, which now takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Originally set for Las Vegas, a recent pre-fight drug test netted an “atypical finding” of a trace amount of Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone, or turinabol, which meant Jones would not be granted a license to fight in Nevada with such a short time for the commission to address the issue.

Jones, who has proclaimed innocence throughout a prior performance-enhancing-drug-related  suspension, not to mention through this latest ordeal, admitted that the test result sent him spiraling but that he quickly realized the need to regain focus.

“Honestly, my initial reaction was ‘not again,’” Jones admitted. “It felt like a nightmare, but honestly, I think my faith in God has really, really helped me out with this situation, just believing that, ‘Hey, listen, this is all what my story is going to be. Just be with me, God, through it all, and keep me strong to handle all this.’ Some things are out of my control, and you’ve just got to learn to focus on what you can control.

“Another thing I’ve done is to be able to lean on my team. So many people stepped up and wrote me the most positive things, and all the messages were pretty much the same. ‘You can’t afford to get emotionally weak this close to the fight. Stay focused. Stay strong, and believe that this is just meant to be and let go, let God, and do your best. Control what you can control,’ and that’s what I’m doing.”

Jones is currently ranked No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light heavyweight rankings, and he sits at No. 6 in the pound-for-pound list. Even that pair of lofty rankings doesn’t really address his talents in the cage. It’s been everything that happens outside of the octagon that has proven Jones’ toughest challenge in his remarkable 10-year run in the UFC.

Being at the center of controversy is nothing new to Jones, but he believes he must simply focus on the task at hand and that victory will prove all that it needs.

“I’ve just got to be comfortable in the chaos,” Jones said. “That’s really what I have to do. To be a multiple-time world champion or one of the best fighters possibly ever, you have to expect things out of yourself that would make most people crumble. You’ve got to be able to deal with the media, the weight cut, the criticism, the back story, the crazy, tough opponent – you’ve got to be able to swallow it all, and that’s what I plan to do.

“It’s a big moment. It’s a high-risk moment. High-risk is high-reward, too.”

For more on UFC 232, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.