News of Jon Jones positive steroid test was confirmed by USADA and Jones’ agent on Thursday. TMZ broke the story on Tuesday, and while speculation has run rampant since then, but the news became official on Thursday after an official statement was released by a USADA spokesperson as well as Jones’ agent Malki Kawa. “Given […]
News of Jon Jones positive steroid test was confirmed by USADA and Jones’ agent on Thursday.
TMZ broke the story on Tuesday, and while speculation has run rampant since then, but the news became official on Thursday after an official statement was released by a USADA spokesperson as well as Jones’ agent Malki Kawa.
“Given that Mr. Jones’ representative has publicly commented about the substance, USADA can confirm that his sample tested positive for turinabol,” a USADA spokesperson said Thursday.
Meanwhile, Jones’ agent and friend Malki Kawa confirmed the notification from USADA, but insisted he was going to stick by his client.
“I stand with bones! For anyone to think I would ‘drop’ him like Him and I aren’t brothers is stupid. … 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?” Kawa wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon.
Jones still has the chance to appeal the suspension prior to adjudication. But, if he is found guilty of using a banned substance again, he faces up to a four-year suspension due to prior infractions.
How do you see this all playing out? Will “Bones” be stripped of his belt and suspended?
When top-ranked UFC light heavyweight Anthony Johnson knocked out formerly surging contender Glover Teixiera in a mere 13 seconds (highlights) in the co-main event of last weekend’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, he was under the impression that he had all but sealed his next shot at champion
When top-ranked UFC light heavyweight Anthony Johnson knocked out formerly surging contender Glover Teixiera in a mere 13 seconds (highlights) in the co-main event of last weekend’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, he was under the impression that he had all but sealed his next shot at champion Daniel Cormier.
With three straight knockout wins over Teixeira, Ryan Bader, and Jimi Manuwa, it was easy to understand “Rumble’s” stance. However, that may not end up being the case according to Dana White.
“Rumble” had largely spent the build-up to his UFC 202 co-headliner against Teixeira trying to distance himself from temporarily suspended longtime former champion Jon Jones, whom he was scheduled to face at 2015’s UFC 187 before “Bones” was stripped of the belt for legal trouble, allowing Cormier to come in and beat him for the title. While “Rumble” is certainly deserving of the next title fight on merit alone, White revealed on today’s “UFC Unfiltered” podcast that the promotion is considering a Jones vs. Johnson title eliminator:
“I’m in a weird place. We saw that fight, and it was a great fight. I’ve still got to talk to (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva and see what he thinks. But I’m thinking maybe we do Anthony Johnson vs. Jon Jones to see who gets to fight Daniel Cormier.”
Jones, who is temporarily suspended by the NSAC for two potential USADA anti-doping violations that ruined his UFC 200 main event rematch with Cormier, recently released an Instagram video revealing supposedly “really good” news that would allow him to get back into the Octagon soon. News soon followed that Jones’ failure for two banned estrogen blockers may have been due to Cialis, something that White hinted at.
He couldn’t release any official details, but White did note that Jones shockingly has yet another chance for a comeback, and things are realistically “looking good” for his return:
“I haven’t talked to Jon, but the guy’s got 13 lives. It’s looking good for him. I think he’s got to deal with (the) Nevada (State Athletic Commission) right now and this thing that went down. I can’t say a lot about it because it’s not my place. We’ll see how this thing plays out, but it’s looking good for him.”
As one of the most anticipated bouts in all of MMA – and quite possibly the most at light heavyweight – there’s little question that a Jones vs. ‘Rumble’ match-up would do big business and provide a clear-cut title contender in a division that could only be called a mess due to Jones’ seemingly never-ending troubles outside the cage.
But most wanted to see “Bones” vs. “Rumble” for the official title, and it’s a legitimate question if whether or not Jones will be able to make his way through one training camp, let alone the two he would have to in order to finally realize his long-held rivalry with Cormier.
That’s a lot of variables to fall into place, and it could easily be argued that “Rumble” has done much more than Jones in terms of actual fight accomplishments over the last two years. Jones does own a win over the man who beat “Rumble” in Cormier, however.
If you didn’t think the time-honored UFC 205-pound division was messy enough, it could get a whole lot messier in the coming months, fight fans. Stay tuned.
It’s been a rollercoaster of a month for UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. At the beginning of July, he was finally set to rematch arch rival Jon Jones in the main event of UFC 200 for a chance to finally unify the 205-pound titles and silence his critics once and for all. But just days
It’s been a rollercoaster of a month for UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.
At the beginning of July, he was finally set to rematch arch rival Jon Jones in the main event of UFC 200 for a chance to finally unify the 205-pound titles and silence his critics once and for all. But just days out from the event, “DC” was hit with the heavy news that “Bones” wouldn’t competing at the supposedly monumental event after a potential USADA violation for two banned substances forced the UFC to pull him from the bout.
Cormier fought and beat late replacement Anderson Silva on the much-ballyhooed main card, using his clear area of strength of wrestling to control “The Spider” in an uneventful and, in the eyes of many fans in Las Vegas, disappointing bout. So the champ just couldn’t win – even if he won – and it turned out to be a sort of microcosm of his year in general.
Forever linked to “Bones,” who beat him by unanimous decision at 2015’s UFC 182, Cormier was and is viewed as a fake champion despite wins over top contenders Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Alexander Gustafsson while the formerly dominant Jones was dealing with his seemingly never-ending legal troubles.
He may never be fully redeemed in the minds of some fans if he never beats Jones, but at this point, he’s just had enough of his rival’s card-wrecking antics. Speaking candidly during his return as a co-host on UFC Tonight last night, Cormier unveiled the stance that he was not going to face Jones, but rather the winner of UFC 202’s pivotal bout between “Rumble” and Glover Teixeira next:
“The sad thing is that you got guys that are doing everything right. Anthony Johnson and Glover Teixeira are doing everything right. So, I am sitting here right now telling you on UFC Tonight, I am going to fight the winner of that fight. I don’t care if Jon Jones comes back, I am not going to reward him. His chance was July 9, and he was not there. Glover Teixeira and Anthony Johnson are very deserving guys, and they should get the title shot after they fight. They’re doing the things the right way.”
It’s a proclamation that won’t be lauded by most, but at the same time, it’s one that is understandable at the same time. Jones and his downward spiral of arrests and drug test failures are putting a serious damper on his overall legacy and career in the long run, but in the short term, they are simply demolishing the high-profile cards he’s booked on.
The UFC was quick to kick featherweight champion Conor McGregor out of the main event slot for missing a press conference, yet while “The Notorious” may have needed to be put in place somewhat, putting the onus of UFC 200 – the so-called “biggest card ever” – on Jones’ (along with Brock Lesnar’s, who also failed two drug tests himself) dubious shoulders was a questionable call at best.
Like it or not, Cormier isn’t going to reward that behavior any longer. Jones may arguably be the best pound-for-pound talent MMA has ever seen.
He also may be the biggest waste of talent the sport has ever built up.
There might be a time when “DC” finally settles his long-held rivalry with Jones; there might not. It just won’t be in Cormier’s next trip to the Octagon.
It’s been nearly two weeks since decorated former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones threw the MMA world into complete madness when he was forced out of his scheduled UFC 200 main event against arch nemesis Daniel Cormier due to a potential USADA violation from a June 28 test. The discussion has now shifted to
It’s been nearly two weeks since decorated former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones threw the MMA world into complete madness when he was forced out of his scheduled UFC 200 main event against arch nemesis Daniel Cormier due to a potential USADA violation from a June 28 test.
The discussion has now shifted to just what will happen to the troubled but talented Jones, and that process got started at today’s (Mon., July 18, 2016) Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) hearing in Las Vegas.
First, it was confirmed by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that Jones had indeed tested positive for anti-estrogen substances as had been speculated by Chael Sonnen and Rashad Evans:
Just confirmed at NSAC meeting, Jon Jones tested positive for anti-estrogen substance.
So the wheels of Jones’ final punishment are in motion, but obviously not anywhere close to stopping for good anytime soon. His team has claimed the standard go-to defense of a tainted supplement, something that UFC athletes Yoel Romero and Tim Means have actually gotten reduced suspensions for after violating the UFC’s new and increased doping policy, which obviously has some kinks still to be worked out.
But the onus is going to fall on Jones here, because at the very least he was responsible for not having a supplement checked for the dangerous red flag of having anti-estrogen substances in them somehow.
It’s simply the latest in a long line of highly-publicized and sad incidents in the saga of Jones, who could potentially face a two-year ban from USADA in the prime of his fighting career.
There’s also no telling how this may affect his probation, which he received for leaving the scene after hitting and fracturing the arm of a 25-year-old pregnant women in Albuquerque last year and was already jailed for violating earlier this year.
