Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones took a trip to Sin City alongside his manager to have a meeting with UFC officials.
What’s interesting is that this news is not a report but rather, his manager, Malki Kawa, made it known to the world in a post on his official Instagram account with the caption of the photo that read, “2 GOATS, 1 mission, all business.”
This has led to a lot of speculation as to what this meeting was about considering two factors. One, there has been some who have thought that Jones would somehow make his return at UFC 230 in the main event. The second factor is due to him being suspended right now.
Jones failed an in-competition drug test for Turinabol at UFC 214 after he beat Daniel Cormier by third-round TKO. This fight took place in the main event in July of 2017 in Anaheim, California. Later on, he was stripped of the UFC light heavyweight title and also removed from the official UFC rankings.
Moving along to February, it was revealed that the CSAC revoked Jones’ MMA license and fined him $205,000. Many considered that this hearing that would determine Jones’ fate as a result of this drug test. Now, he’s waiting to hear the decision made by USADA. You can see the post here:
So here’s the reality of the situation. We don’t know yet exactly what this meeting was about. It could be a friendly visit and the Jones camp just playing up speculation. However, it’s a bit odd for them to go there in person with the former UFC champion currently suspended.
The UFC 230 pay-per-view event is set to take place on Saturday, November 3, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York City with the main card airing on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.
The promotion will be announcing more bouts in the coming weeks but for now, here’s the updated card:
Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier David Branch vs. Ronaldo Souza Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman Israel Adesanya vs. Derek Brunson Sultan Aliev vs. Lyman Good Matt Frevola vs. Lando Vannata Brian Kelleher vs. Domingo Pilarte Karl Roberson vs. Jack Marshman Shane Burgos vs. Kurt Holobaugh Julio Arce vs. Sheymon Moraes Jason Knight vs. Jordan Rinaldi
Last year proved to be a difficult transition for new UFC owners Endeavor (formerly WME-IMG), who bought the UFC for over $4 billion in 2016. With superstars sidelined and hype trains’ stock crashing in a single night, it’s been a tough go for the UFC. Couple that with injuries, weight-cutting issues, rampant performance-enhancing drug use, […]
Last year proved to be a difficult transition for new UFC owners Endeavor (formerly WME-IMG), who bought the UFC for over $4 billion in 2016.
With superstars sidelined and hype trains’ stock crashing in a single night, it’s been a tough go for the UFC. Couple that with injuries, weight-cutting issues, rampant performance-enhancing drug use, and rapidly declining pay-per-view sales, and it would seem like things can’t get much worse.
There’s obviously still time for Endeavor to turn things around, but their margin for error is considerably smaller in 2018 than it was at the start of 2017.
With a new year ahead of them, the UFC must abide by six directives in order to succeed in 2018.
6. Spread The Hype More Evenly
UFC 220 was a perfect example of what the UFC cannot do in the coming year.
Title challengers Francis Ngannou and Volkan Oezdemir were hyped beyond belief, especially Ngannou.
The hype was so excessive that it actually came across as disrespect to champions Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier, to the point where Miocic refused to let Dana White put the belt around his waist after snuffing out Ngannou’s hype train.
The UFC had the right intentions but the wrong idea; they need to build up their champions, especially Miocic, instead of flavor-of-the-month prospects. They have an absolute killer as a heavyweight champion and they put more energy into Ngannou, who in reality had only knocked out two top fighters – both of whom Miocic dispatched before beforehand.
With so many new divisions and champions, it may seem hard to do, however, it’s the only way to avoid the pitfalls of last year.
2017 was certainly an inconsistent year for the UFC. Big successes came in the form of Mayweather vs. McGregor even though it technically didn’t take place in MMA (or even close to it), but a rash of high-profile injuries, failed drug tests, absent champions, and debilitating weight issues lead to more headaches and problems than […]
2017 was certainly an inconsistent year for the UFC.
Big successes came in the form of Mayweather vs. McGregor even though it technically didn’t take place in MMA (or even close to it), but a rash of high-profile injuries, failed drug tests, absent champions, and debilitating weight issues lead to more headaches and problems than successes for the world’s leading MMA promotion overall.
In total, its been a rocky road, to say the least, since WME-IMG bought the promotion from the Fertitta brothers for a then-record $4.2 billion in July 2016.
Are these recent blunders a sign of the end times for the UFC? Or will they recover from disasters like the Jon Jones debacle or Anderson Silva’s rapid downfall?
Let’s take a look at seven significant signs that the UFC is headed for disaster:
Jason Silva/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire
7. Absence Of Conor McGregor In The Octagon
The UFC obviously benefited from Mayweather vs McGregor, but they were one of many hands in the pot financially. With their former featherweight and current lightweight champion, on the sidelines otherwise, McGregor has been making the news for all the wrong reasons lately.
But that’s almost besides the point. No McGregor means less blockbuster cards, one of their tried-and-true superstars.
And without defending the belt, he’s continuing to hold up a division that already has an interim champ.
Now we’re left wondering whether or not he will ever return to the UFC, especially considering the massive amount of money he made in the Mayweather fight. With McGregor no longer in the picture, does that spell the end of McGregor’s MMA career? That would really put a stake in the heart of the promotion, one it may or may not be able to recover from.
Now that the MMA world has had two full days to digest the disappointing news that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones tested positive for banned anabolic steroid Turinabol following his third-round knockout of rival Daniel Cormier in the main event of July 29’s UFC 214, the sequence of events now moves on to Jones’ […]
Now that the MMA world has had two full days to digest the disappointing news that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones tested positive for banned anabolic steroid Turinabol following his third-round knockout of rival Daniel Cormier in the main event of July 29’s UFC 214, the sequence of events now moves on to Jones’ due process and the testing of his B sample before it moves on to exactly what his punishment will be.
It’s the latest in a long, winding, and ultimately disturbing series of outside-the-cage troubles for the ultra-talented “Bones,” a fighter so rare and dominant that many, including myself, were quick to re-anoint him as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in mixed martial arts history after he floored Cormier with a head kick and brutal ground and pound last month. By now the troubles, which always seem to be centered on recreational and performance-enhancing drugs, have become well-documented over and again to the point fans are probably tired of reading about them.
But to summarize, drug test failures for cocaine and driving under the influence charges lead to a disturbing early morning hit-and-run accident in his adopted home of Albuquerque, New Mexico that left a 25-year-old pregnant woman with a broken arm. He didn’t make it his re-scheduled UFC 200 rematch with Cormier due to a failed pre-fight screen for banned substances clomiphene and letrozole, both known as masking agents. Unfortunately, he was able to fight at UFC 214, however, brutalizing his greatest foe with a finish so decisive there left no doubt as to who was the greatest light heavyweight in UFC history – or so we thought.
Now, Jones is owed his due process, a phrase repeated so often during these whirlwind two days that it would seem as if not one person is willing to consider that a realistic process afforded Jones at this point. Many may feel that way, but overall, it’s just becoming hard to blame them after the latest incident to mar a huge pay-per-view headliner featuring Jones.
MMA Weekly
His team is claiming another (yawn) tainted supplement – predictably – and that’s a defense they used when Jones claimed to have tested positive for clomiphene due to his use of a sexual enhancement enhancer, or more affectionately, a ‘dick pill.’ But Jones didn’t get off based on that the first time, as his one-year USADA suspension only just expired when he fought Cormier a second time. The tainted supplement, if it even proves to be the case, is most likely not going to save “Bones” from another long suspension, which could be up to four years this time, due to fighters having to screen any and everything they put in their bodies.
UFC president Dana White isn’t sure we’ll ever see Jones in the octagon again – and indeed that may be the case. However, after a couple days to mull it over, I wouldn’t rush to such a conclusion just yet, even though that was admittedly my first reaction. Jones has shown an almost preternatural ability to somehow bounce back from what seems like certain doom based on a pointless risking of his reputation and brand just like he displays preternatural abilities in dispatching his opponents in the cage.
He came back from every mishap he’s created before, and even though he’s facing his toughest test in terms of his rep being stepped on, and by his own hand if it is proven that he willingly took anabolic steroids before he rematched Cormier. The moral high road isn’t going to play into any “Bones’” comeback as much as the angry mobs with pitchforks and torches may hope for, either, and the UFC needs elite draws to headline PPV events more than ever, something they got for the first time all year with Jones at UFC 214.
It’s clearly going to take a cataclysmic mess-up for them to stop signing Jones for headliners – but what is worse than knocking out a world-class rival with by kicking them in the head while having used steroids (if that is the case)? Situations like that are exactly why the UFC decided to enlist USADA to enact heavily increased and more stringent testing in MMA in the first place. “Bones” ability to beat the best MMA talent in the world in the octagon will seemingly always supersede his tendency to screw up outside of it
A lot – even a ton – could change before Jones is actually able to return to MMA, if he ever does. Just don’t be surprised if somehow, he does.
By now, it’s plain to see there’s been a verifiable downpour of news and opinions surrounding UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ shocking failed drug test at UFC 214. Most of it has been in the form of online vitriol directed at the massively talented-but-troubled MMA legend who had supposedly made a successful comeback against […]
By now, it’s plain to see there’s been a verifiable downpour of news and opinions surrounding UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ shocking failed drug test at UFC 214.
Most of it has been in the form of online vitriol directed at the massively talented-but-troubled MMA legend who had supposedly made a successful comeback against Daniel Cormier, but Jones’ management team issued a statement late last night expressing their surprise at the unfortunate event, noting that he was due the full process of sorting out the truth of his failed test.
That’s certainly true for Jones and any other UFC athlete who is flagged for a potential USADA anti-doping violation, but it’s also no surprise that most are doubting the validity of his camp’s suggestion they would test his supplements for contamination, the go-to response of nearly every UFC athlete who fails a drug test. It didn’t work for Jones last year after he failed a pre-fight screen for clomiphene just days before his scheduled UFC 200 rematch with Cormier as Jones earned a one-year suspension that just expired in the weeks before UFC 214.
Regardless, Jones’ manager Malki Kawa is apparently still baffled that MMA fans online, of all places, would be so quick to pass judgment on a fighter who has shown nothing but the inability to make it to the octagon in the past two years due to a nefarious list of drug-related troubles. Kawa took a professional tone in his statement last night, yet that has changed in a day’s time.
He issued a singing statement on his Facebook page discrediting all of “Bones’” haters:
“The amount of hate that everyone has towards jon jones with out any due process is beyond me. The messages I keep getting saying to “drop him” or “don’t take up for him” goes to show me how low this society is. I stand with bones! For anyone to think I would “drop” him like Him and I aren’t brothers is stupid. I know how hard he worked to get back to where he’s at. This is definitely heartbreaking. He def didn’t cheat or use steroids. But I’m with him more now than the night he won the belt…. being there for the good times is what everybody would do. But who’s really there when times get bad? I hope that you people pick your friends, wives/husbands and close confidants based on real stuff. Not who can celebrate when you’re on top. I’m not sure why this is happening to him again, or how even, but We’ll get to the bottom of it. To those of you that truly support my brother and I, thank you! To those of you who say “drop him” you’re not doing me any favors by saying that. You’re not my friend nor my family. So a big “fuck you” to you and your “support””
USA Today/ MMA Junkie
Now, it’s important to note that Jones is, of course, owed his due process and could be exonerated by USADA, but it’s hard to imagine they’re going to take it easy on him only a little more than a year after they deemed his behavior nearly “reckless” in taking a sexual performance pill while also acknowledging he was not a “drug cheat.”
Kawa suggests that is exactly the case, and justice will once again shine through for “Bones.” But with a mounting set of disappointing drug issues that are making it tough to believe Jones’ team when they blame their trouble on something else every time, at some point Kawa will have to point the finger at his fighter – and as a result, even himself.
We’ll just have to wait and see what USADA unveils, yet one thing is certain: Jon Jones is running out of chances.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion and former pound-for-pound king Jon “Bones” Jones was recently suspended one year by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after testing positive for multiple banned substances surrounding his scheduled UFC 200 (July 9, 2016) rematch with reigning titleholder Daniel Cormier. Jones was still awaiting his punishment from the Nevada State
Former UFC light heavyweight champion and former pound-for-pound king Jon “Bones” Jones was recently suspended one year by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after testing positive for multiple banned substances surrounding his scheduled UFC 200 (July 9, 2016) rematch with reigning titleholder Daniel Cormier.
Jones was still awaiting his punishment from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), but that wait is now over. According to a report from MMAFighting.com, the NSAC has followed USADA’s lead and handed “Bones” a one year suspension retroactive to July 6, 2016, the date that his test results came back.
Jones tested positive for an anti-estrogenic agent as well as an aromatase inhibitor, which led the UFC to pull him from UFC 200 just days prior. When he met with USADA, “Bones” blamed the failed test on a contaminated sex pill, which USADA confirmed was indeed tainted.
The former champion will be eligible to compete again this coming July.
1 mission, all business.
