Jon Jones fails another drug test, could be stripped of light heavyweight title
Just when it seemed Jon Jones had everything together, it seems to be all crashing down once again.
It was revealed early Tuesday evening that Jon Jones failed a drug test in relation to his UFC 214 bout against Daniel Cormier in which he regained the light heavyweight title. Sporting News can confirm Jones has been provisionally suspended pending a hearing at a later date.
The UFC could strip Jones of the light heavyweight title he won from Daniel Cormier on July 29, TMZ reports. TMZ also reported Jones tested positive for the anabolic steroid, turinabol. If the test stands then Jones would be suspended from USADA for first-time offenders and would be longer for multiple-time offenders.
This isn't the first time Jones failed a drug test prior to a scheduled bout against Cormier at UFC 200 back in July 2016 for steroids, clomiphene and letrozol. He got suspended for one year.
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The UFC released a statement confirming Jones' positive test.
"The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Jon Jones of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an in-competition sample collected following his weigh-in on July 28, 2017," the statement read.
"USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Jones, as it relates to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and future UFC participation. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed.
The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) also retains jurisdiction over this matter as the sample collection was performed the day before Jones’ bout at UFC 214 in Anaheim, CA, and USADA will work to ensure that the CSAC has the necessary information to determine its proper judgment of Jones’ potential anti-doping violation."
SN reached out to Jones' camp to no response but his manager Malki Kawa did release a statement moments ago to MMA Fighting.
"We are all at a complete loss for words right now. Jon, his trainers, his nutritionists and his entire camp have worked tirelessly and meticulously the past 12 months to avoid this exact situation. We are having the samples tested again to determine the validity or source of contamination. Jon is crushed by this news and we are doing whatever we can as a team, to support him."
Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can listen to his podcast, "The Fight Junkies" here . You can email him at stevemuehlhausen@yahoo.com and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA .