Author: Joseph Zucker

Jon Jones Suspended 1 Year by USADA for Positive Drug Test

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) officially suspended Jon Jones for one year Monday after he tested positive for two banned substances prior to his UFC 200 clash with Daniel Cormier in July, according to MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi. The UFC ultimat…

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) officially suspended Jon Jones for one year Monday after he tested positive for two banned substances prior to his UFC 200 clash with Daniel Cormier in July, according to MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi. The UFC ultimately pulled Jones from the fight and replaced him with Anderson Silva. 

The suspension is retroactive to Jones’ positive test, so he’ll be eligible to fight again in July 2017.

Fox Sports’ Damon Martin reported Jones was flagged for hydroxy-clomiphene and a Letrozole metabolite. Martin explained the benefit the drugs provided to an athlete:

Anti-estrogen drugs are typically used in doping to counteract the effects of another illegal substance such as steroids. Steroids or other similar substances that introduce extra testosterone in the human body, which then produces additional estrogen as a natural result. Additional estrogen can result in fat retention or potentially lead to gynecomastia, which is breast growth in men.

ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto wrote that Jones’ lawyer attempted to argue the 29-year-old believed he was taking Cialis, a male enhancement pill, which he received from teammate Eric Blasich. Instead, Blasich had given Jones a different pill that contained substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The arbitrators who evaluated Jones’ appeal ruled that the fighter didn’t intend to cheat but was instead reckless.

Jones’ rematch with Cormier was one of the most highly anticipated bouts of the year. The arbitrators who looked at Jones’ case estimated the former champion lost roughly $9 million as a result of getting pulled off the UFC 200 card and the ensuing consequences, per Okamoto.

In addition to his USADA suspension, Jones could face retroactive punishment from the Nevada State Athletic Commission stemming from the positive test. Citing the Silva case, Okamoto speculated Jones could receive another one-year suspension from the NSAC in line with USADA‘s ruling.

In August 2015, the NSAC suspended Silva for one year after he tested positive for Drostanolone and Androstane prior to and after his fight with Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in January 2015.

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Jon Jones Suspended 1 Year by USADA for Positive Drug Test

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) officially suspended Jon Jones for one year Monday after he tested positive for two banned substances prior to his UFC 200 clash with Daniel Cormier in July, according to MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi. The UFC ultimat…

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) officially suspended Jon Jones for one year Monday after he tested positive for two banned substances prior to his UFC 200 clash with Daniel Cormier in July, according to MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi. The UFC ultimately pulled Jones from the fight and replaced him with Anderson Silva. 

The suspension is retroactive to Jones’ positive test, so he’ll be eligible to fight again in July 2017.

Fox Sports’ Damon Martin reported Jones was flagged for hydroxy-clomiphene and a Letrozole metabolite. Martin explained the benefit the drugs provided to an athlete:

Anti-estrogen drugs are typically used in doping to counteract the effects of another illegal substance such as steroids. Steroids or other similar substances that introduce extra testosterone in the human body, which then produces additional estrogen as a natural result. Additional estrogen can result in fat retention or potentially lead to gynecomastia, which is breast growth in men.

ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto wrote that Jones’ lawyer attempted to argue the 29-year-old believed he was taking Cialis, a male enhancement pill, which he received from teammate Eric Blasich. Instead, Blasich had given Jones a different pill that contained substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The arbitrators who evaluated Jones’ appeal ruled that the fighter didn’t intend to cheat but was instead reckless.

Jones’ rematch with Cormier was one of the most highly anticipated bouts of the year. The arbitrators who looked at Jones’ case estimated the former champion lost roughly $9 million as a result of getting pulled off the UFC 200 card and the ensuing consequences, per Okamoto.

In addition to his USADA suspension, Jones could face retroactive punishment from the Nevada State Athletic Commission stemming from the positive test. Citing the Silva case, Okamoto speculated Jones could receive another one-year suspension from the NSAC in line with USADA‘s ruling.

In August 2015, the NSAC suspended Silva for one year after he tested positive for Drostanolone and Androstane prior to and after his fight with Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in January 2015.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Multiple Cars Set on Fire Outside of Anthony Pettis’ Home

Three cars belonging to UFC fighter Anthony Pettis caught fire during an alleged arson Thursday morning at his home in Milwaukee, according to Justin Williams of Fox 6. 
Williams shared a photo of the damage:

Williams also spoke to Carson Blaszak…

Three cars belonging to UFC fighter Anthony Pettis caught fire during an alleged arson Thursday morning at his home in Milwaukee, according to Justin Williams of Fox 6. 

Williams shared a photo of the damage:

Williams also spoke to Carson Blaszak, an eyewitness to the fire who claimed to have seen a driver fleeing the scene.

“Right around the same time as that happened, there was kind of a large bang,” Blaszak said. “It was three cars caught on fire. I just, I ran outside, and I was hoping, you know, the house hopefully wasn’t gonna catch on fire.”

More to follow.

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Lyman Good Out of UFC 205 After Getting Flagged for Potential Doping Violation

The UFC announced Monday night it has pulled Lyman Good off the card for UFC 205 on Nov. 12.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency flagged a potential doping violation from a sample the group collected Oct. 14.
Good was originally supposed to fight Belal Muhamma…

The UFC announced Monday night it has pulled Lyman Good off the card for UFC 205 on Nov. 12.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency flagged a potential doping violation from a sample the group collected Oct. 14.

Good was originally supposed to fight Belal Muhammad in a welterweight bout.

Whether the company adds a new fight or not, UFC 205 shouldn’t suffer much without Good vs. Muhammad, which was scheduled for the preliminary card.

The event was going to be a nice showcase for Good, though. The 31-year-old New York City native would’ve had a hometown crowd behind him at Madison Square Garden.

It also would have been Good’s first fight since he beat Andrew Craig at UFC Fight Night 71 in July 2015, which marked his UFC debut. An injury forced him to miss a matchup with Omari Akhmedov in December. As if spending over a year out of the Octagon hadn’t already stunted Good’s UFC career enough, the flagged drug test is another big setback.

The UFC announced it’s looking at potential opponents for Muhammad in place of Good.

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Conor McGregor Fined for Throwing Water Bottle During UFC 202 Press Conference

Conor McGregor received a $150,000 fine and 50 hours of community service Monday for throwing a water bottle during a press conference for UFC 202 in August, according to MMAFighting.com. 
Sports Illustrated’s Mike Dyce shared a replay of the inci…

Conor McGregor received a $150,000 fine and 50 hours of community service Monday for throwing a water bottle during a press conference for UFC 202 in August, according to MMAFighting.com. 

Sports Illustrated‘s Mike Dyce shared a replay of the incident, which begins at the 1:18 mark of the video below (warning: video contains NSFW language):

More to follow.

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Amir Khan Comments on Potentially Fighting Conor McGregor

Another boxer has signaled interest in a potential fight with UFC star Conor McGregor, and it seems Amir Khan may be serious about stepping inside the Octagon.   
In an interview with FloCombat’s Chamatkar Sandhu released Tuesday, K…

Another boxer has signaled interest in a potential fight with UFC star Conor McGregor, and it seems Amir Khan may be serious about stepping inside the Octagon.   

In an interview with FloCombat’s Chamatkar Sandhu released Tuesday, Khan argued he’d be able to make the transition from boxing to mixed martial arts:

I would, definitely. Something like that would be massive. Even if I started to train MMA next year, I’d only be 30 years old. I could stop and train for a full year and become a good MMA fighter. It’s in our blood to fight. I’ve been fighting all my life, so for me, I don’t think it’d be a problem for me to learn and switch over to the sport.

Khan also said he’d like his chances if pitted against McGregor:

I think McGregor has some great boxing skills. A good boxer will always win a MMA fight–I’ve always said that. A good puncher will always win. You saw in the [Jose] Aldo fight–he took a step back and countered him as he came in. With boxing, it’s all about distance and timing, and that’s something we have on our side more than MMA fighters.

When McGregor was embroiled in his standoff with the UFC that saw him pulled from July 9’s UFC 200 card, Floyd Mayweather Jr. also threw out the idea of a fight with the featherweight champion. Mayweather went so far as to create a promotional poster for the event:

On a May episode of Russillo & Kanell, via ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto, UFC President Dana White downplayed the chances of Mayweather and McGregor fighting:

Let me put it to you this way. Manny Pacquiao and [Mayweather] are in the same sport. It took how long for those two to fight? Now imagine how hard it would be to get (Mayweather and McGregor) to fight. They’re not in the same sport. […]

Is this thing going to be MMA or boxing rules? Who’s getting the lion’s share of the money? This and that. It’s impossible. But like I’ve said, ‘Floyd, you want to fight Conor, call me.’

Many of those same logistical problems would be present should Khan want to pursue a bout in the UFC. Since Khan isn’t as big of a star as Mayweather, White may also question whether bringing him into MMA would be worth all of the hassle.

To his credit, though, Khan told Sandhu he’d be willing to make certain concessions—most notably that he’d fight under MMA rules.

James Toney was similarly confident he’d be successful in MMA after years in the boxing ring, but Randy Couture submitted him in three minutes and 19 seconds at UFC 118 in August 2010. At 29 years old, Khan is 13 years younger than Toney was for his fight against Couture, though.

Shortly after Khan first discussed venturing into MMA back in May, former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub argued on the Fighter and the Kid podcast, via Patrick McCarry of SportsJOE.ie, Khan would be in for a rude awakening:

Especially Khan being a lighter guy, he’s not going to be a knockout guy. I don’t even know where to begin on this…He’s that boxer saying ‘I don’t need a ground game; I could walk into the Octagon’… I’ll tell you this right now, you could take a low-level amateur at 155 pounds—a guy who might not even make The Ultimate Fighter house—and he would mop the floor with [Khan]. Mop the floor. All he would have to do would be cover up, get inside and get an underhook. [Khan] would go for a ride.

Khan would likely be a heavy underdog should he ever oppose McGregor in the Octagon, but the fight would create a lot of buzz among fight fans who want to see two stars from boxing and MMA face off.

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