Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) recently decided to give Jon Jones a one-fight license in order to allow him to compete against Anthony Smith at the upcoming UFC 235 pay-per-view (PPV) event on March 2, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This, after the commission wouldn’t do so at UFC 232 after an abnormality was found on one of Jon’s pre-fight drug tests. Since the incident occurred during the Christmas holiday, no one was at NSAC headquarters to take a look at all the findings in order to let Jones face Alexander Gustafsson on Dec. 29.
As a result, “Bones” and the rest of the fighters were moved to Los Angeles, California on just a week’s notice after the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) decided to play ball. Still, Jon says the fact that NSAC gave him the chance to once again fight in “Sin City” should be further proof to all of his naysayers that he is innocent of doping.
“I’m excited that the whole thing is over. It’s a four hour hearing and I learned a lot of what’s happening in my body. It’s good to know I am not the only athlete going through this. It’s definitely the most high-profile case in the country right now,” he said during a pre-fight press conference to promote UFC 235 (see it again here).
“The biggest thing I want to keep driving home is that these picograms give me no performance-enhancing benefits. I have USADA, VADA and Nevada all three drug testing me for the remainder of this year, which is a lot of needles. But I have no problem being in this position. I think through all the testing I will be vindicated and we will all be educated,” added the current Light Heavyweight champion of the world.
As a stipulation for getting his license to fight Anthony Smith on March 2, Jon will be subjected to year-round drug testing by by NSAC, but also from USADA and VADA. If he makes it through 2019 with no further incident, “Bones” believes it should vindicate hm once and for all.
“Absolutely. I think me opening myself to being tested by three agencies shows that I have nothing to hide. USADA and VADA have been around for so long and work with so many extremely successful athletes,” said Jones.
“Guys who are a lot more influential than I am. They have worked with a who’s who. They are very credible and I feel like them giving me my license shows that I am innocent. This doesn’t help my performance at all. I’m just grateful for everything to be out in the open and accessible for everybody to see,” he concluded.
According to some close to Jones, doubters will always find a way to hate on or discredit Jones despite what science proves. Like him and him. That said, all eyes will be on Jon’s test results for the remainder of 2019.
“Bones,” though, is up for the challenge.