Jon Jones has apparently messed things up again. The elite pound-for-pound fighter has reportedly tested positive for a banned substance in his in-competition drug test for his UFC 214 title win over Daniel Cormier. TMZ was the first to report the failure, which has been confirmed by MMA Fighting.
TMZ also stated that he tested positive for anabolic steroid turinabol. That hasn’t been confirmed yet.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto spoke to UFC president Dana White, who confirmed the positive test and suspension but contrary to the other reports, says that Jones has not been stripped of the UFC light heavyweight title at this point. Yet.
CONFIRMED with Dana White: Jon Jones failed drug test at UFC 214. Per White, he hasn’t been formally stripped of title yet. Wow.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) August 23, 2017
The UFC issued a statement on their website saying it came from a drug test taken after the UFC 214 weigh-ins. A USADA spokesperson also issued a statement to Bloody Elbow:
“Given that Mr. Jones’ representative has publicly commented on the case, USADA can confirm that he has been notified of a potential anti-doping policy violation stemming from an in-competition sample he provided after his weigh-in on July 28, 2017. Because this is an ongoing case, at this time we are not going to provide any further details.”
Jones has had issues with USADA in the past, earning a one-year suspension for a positive test leading up to a UFC 200 fight with Daniel Cormier in July 2016. The two men finally met again at UFC 214, where Jones had apparently ended the Cormier chapter of his career with an emphatic third-round TKO victory.
This is just another issue in a long line of transgressions by Jones throughout the last few years. Besides this suspension and the 2016 one, he was also stripped of the 205-pound title after a hit-and-run accident in 2015.
We’ll have more on the situation as it becomes available.
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