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Love him or loathe him, the greatest fighter in UFC history returns on Saturday in search of a second title in as many divisions. 

Should Jon Jones (26-1, 1 NC) defeat Cyril Gane (11-1) in a vacant heavyweight title bout headlining UFC 285 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+ PPV), he would almost certainly cement his status as the MMA G.O.A.T. Yet should the 35-year-old former light heavyweight king lose cleanly, it would be for the first time in his legendary (and often troubled) career. 

It goes without saying how big the stakes are for Jones as he looks to snap a three-year layoff dating back to his disputed 2020 victory over Dominick Reyes, which led to "Bones" vacating his 205-pound title while announcing a move up to heavyweight that had been teased for nearly a full decade. But given the detailed history of his public missteps, it's difficult to know how fans and media should accept him upon his return. 

It's also difficult to find another athlete in sports history with a legacy as frustratingly unique as the native of Rochester, New York. 

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On one hand, Jones is the greatest fighter UFC has ever known. He's still the closest thing MMA has ever had to a Tiger Woods and became the first UFC fighter to be sponsored by Nike (his first signature shoe sold out online in less than two minutes in 2013). Jones also still holds UFC records for most victories in title bouts (14), combined title defenses (11), wins at light heavyweight (20) and as the youngest champion (23 years 243 days) in promotional history. 

The other side of Jones' legacy, however, is nothing short of troubling. Stripped of his light heavyweight title a UFC-record three times for substance abuse, performance-enhancing drug test failures and countless missteps with the law -- an ongoing theme that only continued during his long layoff -- Jones could just as easily be seen as the most marquee example of a UFC cautionary tale, leaving historians wondering what might've been. 

"I feel like we all have multiple sides and if you don't, I feel sorry for you," Jones said during the "UFC 285 Countdown" show. "We have our goals, we have our setbacks. We have an idea of the person we want to be and then there's the person we actually are. It's just being a human being, really."

Yet, with the recent departure of former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou to free agency after he and UFC brass couldn't come to terms on a new deal, Jones' return feels somewhat like a saving grace for the promotion. Not only can Jones fill the Ngannou-sized hole within the division, he returns to the UFC's good graces at a time when mainstream star power among its elite fighters is largely lacking.

It's a narrative that's not without holes, however, largely because Jones has been idle since long before Ngannou ever captured the UFC title in 2021 and had previously been at odds with UFC brass himself over money. A superfight pairing Ngannou against Jones at heavyweight could've been among the biggest and most important fights in company history, yet Jones only chose to return immediately after Ngannou departed (with Ngannou reportedly turning down record money, much of which likely went to Jones, instead, as part of his restructured deal). 

Jones has been just as hypocritical of late when asked about Ngannou, who ultimately chose freedom to pursue big money in boxing over UFC's financial offer, citing a lack of respect from the promotion and their unwillingness to negotiate his demands for healthcare and better treatment of fighters. 

Five weeks ago, Jones praised Ngannou for his principles in a series of posts on social media, saying, "I'm glad that Francis knows his worth. No man has a right to shame another man for fighting for his worth." Earlier this week, in an interview with RMC Sport, Jones changed his tune completely. 

"I don't think I deserve any criticism," Jones said. "I'm here. Francis had the opportunity to face me and he opted out of the opportunity. If anyone should be criticized, it's Francis Ngannou. If I'm correct, he was offered the biggest contract in heavyweight history. He had the opportunity to be a guy to dethrone me. He didn't believe in himself. Francis didn't believe in himself. He wasn't willing to gamble on himself."

Given Jones' outspoken history as a Christian, complete with the bible verse Philippians 4:13 tattoed across his chest, some have compared his UFC return following so many missteps (most of which would've led to termination of a less popular fighter) to the Parable of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. Only the bigger question isn't whether president Dana White and UFC brass would receive Jones with open arms (they already have) but whether MMA fans would do the same come Saturday. 

If history is any indication, Jones has long been "Teflon Jon" from the standpoint of avoiding full derailment from the extended consequences of his actions. Whether that be in the form of getting the nod in close fights, avoiding career-ending sanctioning or surviving the court of public opinion, it has long felt like MMA fans have been willing to absolve Jones of scorn or refusal to financially support his fights in exchange for a shot at witnessing greatness.  

Seeing Jones return to the promotion's hype machine through appearances in both the "UFC Embedded" pre-fight documentary series and hearing him talk at Wednesday's media day was a reminder of just how long it has been since Jones was an active fighter. 

For the record, Jones was completely unwilling to address his most recent legal setbacks when prompted by media members by instead delivering a tense "next question." This includes a 2021 arrest in Las Vegas for assaulting the mother of his children in front of them following a UFC Hall of Fame ceremony and his DWI arrest one year earlier in his home city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, when Jones was also cited for negligent use of a firearm and driving without proof of insurance. 

Jones did, however, speak in generalties about his life journey at large and how he hopes to be received for the very public highs and lows he has endured. 

"I have some regrets in life but for the most part, I realize that if you have the opportunity and the ability to be really good at something then you owe it," Jones said. "You owe it to the people who can't do what you are doing, who aren't getting the opportunities you are getting. I owe it to them to put myself out there and do it.

"My motivation is to become the best man I can be, to be a reflection of God's love and his forgiveness and, ultimately, have fans around the world see the Christ that's inside of me. None of us are perfect and we all have ups and downs in life. I genuinely believe that my imperfection makes me relatable to a lot of people."

One thing Jones has been very outspoken on leading up to the Gane fight have been the changes made in recent years by USADA, which no longer considers PED tests showing less than 100 picograms per milliliter of a banned substance to be a positive test, which would've absolved Jones of the scrutiny and sanctions he faced for tests collected after his 2017 knockout of Daniel Cormier (later changed to a no contest) and before his 2018 win over Alexander Gustafsson, which showed signs of pulsing for steroid turinabol. 

"I'm grateful to be the athlete who fought the system, who could afford the lawyers and scientists to prove my innocence," Jones said. "I do believe that I -- I don't know if this is the word -- carried the cross or carried the bullet for the rest of the athletes but I was the first to have to go through it. People considered me a cheater. Now, if that same rule would've applied back then, it never would've made the media or been a problem.

"I'm glad I did because some of these younger fighters wouldn't have been able to survive something like that. They would've been cut or wouldn't have been able to afford the lawyers so I took the bullet for this sport, for Major League Baseball and I'm glad that fighters in the future get to avoid what I went through. It was hell being considered a steroid cheat and I'm glad that people see clearly now that I never was and I feel set free."

Jones' choice to clear his own name of any wrongdoing historically does bring with it a bit of a problem. Not only was Jones stripped of his title following a 2015 win over Cormier in which he tested positive for metabolites of cocaine, he was pulled from a scheduled UFC 200 rematch against Cormier in 2016 after testing positive for clomiphene and Letrozol, banned substances that can be used as masking agents for other PEDs. 

Nothing about Jones' career has been black and white. And the presence of so much gray area surrounding his return and what critics should do with his legacy should he turn back time and return to the top of the pound-for-pound and G.O.A.T. rankings with a resounding win only complicates the process. 

Either way, Jones appears focused more on his faith entering such a prestigious return and how he might be able to inspire others who have followed his complicated journey so closely. 

"I'm 35 and I'm at an age where you can't make many excuses for downfalls but I am a young man," Jones said. "I'm looking forward to the man that I'm going to be one day, maybe in my 40s. I'm not saying I won't make mistakes again in the future but I am going to be a man with a lot of experience and will be able to talk to young men about roads they don't want to go down. 

"Ultimately, I believe a few souls will be saved from my existence and that's my motivation."

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Gane, meanwhile, represents the new wave of MMA as he quickly made his way up the heavyweight ladder to challenge Ngannou for the title in January 2022. He lost by decision, but bounced back with a knockout of Tai Tuivasa late last year. Gane has a diverse skillset with near equal styles of victory in knockout, submission and decision.