I’m sure many mixed martial arts (MMA) fans were not surprised to learn that Jon Jones tested positive for trace amounts of Turinabol (again) after his technical knockout win over Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 last month in California.
After all, the promotion has been grooming us for this result over the last several weeks.
So those same fans will be equally unsurprised to hear Gustafsson and his team blew a gasket over what they referred to as “an absolute mess.” Hard to blame them, after all the pre-fight hijinks that led to the pay-per-view (PPV) event changing locations.
MMA Fighting has the statement from manager Nima Safapour.
“The inconclusive and inconsistent results that are repeatedly occurring with Jon Jones, at the very least, should compel our industry to have a greater, deeper, and more impartial discussion about the legitimacy of Jon’s defense. Jon has gone out publicly boasting when some of his results come back negative. However, he remains silent when his test results come back positive. You can not have it both ways and cherry-pick the results that are favorable for you, and insist that we disregard the results that go against your interests.”
“Jon has essentially received a use exemption on a strict liability violation. The science is not certain on the defense he has taken. Furthermore, science is always in a state of change. So the science we rely on today is different than the science we relied on from just a few years ago. It will probably change again going forward. Jones is also creating a precedent that will go beyond his personal interests in the sense that now other fighters will also seek use exemptions on a strict liability violation based on an issue that the science community is still divided on. It’s an absolute mess.”
I guess not everyone shares this attitude.
Jones is hoping to make a quick turnaround in the UFC 235 main event, but he’ll first need Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) to grant him a license to compete, something that was an issue ahead of UFC 232 and caused this.
Tuesday afternoon is going to be very, very interesting.