Jon Jones’ recent USADA debacle has not been good for his image, to say the least. The redemption story he was aiming for through a win at UFC 214 was instantly nullified when his in-competition drug test rendered a positive result for Turinabol.
Jones could currently be facing as much as a four-year suspension, a sanction that his striking coach Mike Winkeljohn feels is “unfair.” But, as the former UFC light heavyweight champion deals with flak from fans, some of his fellow fighters feel that his mishap may also reflect poorly on the rest of the sport.
During his appearance on Monday’s MMA Hour episode, Quinton Jackson spoke about how Jones’ controversy could be affecting outsider perception toward all MMA fighters.
“Jon Jones put that light on every MMA fighter, that we all do that sh-t,” Rampage said (transcript via MMA Mania). “It’s bad for the sport and it makes everybody else look bad because people think that we are steroid freaks. I don’t know the sh-t that’s going on with Jones or if he passed or failed that sh-t, but it’s bad.”
‘Rampage’ went on to say that he has been accused of PED use throughout his career, even during his days fighting under Pride FC in Japan. However, he attests that he never took any banned substance, and that he is firmly against doping.
“Any fighter that has to take steroids, and our body produces testosterone naturally, but if you have to take steroids to be a fighter, to get in and fight another man, then you are really not a fighter, that’s how I feel,” Rampage said. “I have never failed a steroid piss test.”
“Dana White thought I was on steroids when I fought Forrest Griffin. He came in and said, ‘Rampage, after you fight you get big you blow up, gain a lot of weight. That’s a trait of someone being on steroids.’ But people don’t know my body.”
Jones had already been stripped of the UFC light heavyweight title, and Daniel Cormier has been reinstated as champion. Jackson last fought at Bellator 175, in March of 2017, where he lost a unanimous decision to ‘King’ Mo Lawal. The bout marked the last fight on Rampage’s Bellator contract. No word yet on exactly when or where the former UFC champion will compete next.
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