The more things change, the more they stay the same. After serving a one year suspension for a USADA doping violation Jon Jones has been flagged again, this time for steroids. The alleged violation occurred when Jones tested positive for Turinabol, an anabolic steroid on the day of the weigh ins for UFC 214 last month.
If the violation holds up Jones is facing a four year ban from MMA. Jones would be 34 if served four years for the positive test upon his return. If we’ve seen one thing in the UFC, MMA is a young man’s sport. Taking four years away from Jones’ prime is a almost a death sentence for his career.
As we all know Jones defeated Daniel Cormier by TKO in the third round at UFC 214 to leave with the UFC light heavyweight title that he never really lost in the first place. “Bones” called out Brock Lesnar and many fans were looking forward to the epic showdown. Now the Jones vs Cormier 2 will be overturned to a no contest and the title will either go back to Cormier or be held up for the top two contenders, one of which will likely be “DC”.
Jones’ management team has yet to make a statement. The UFC has yet to strip Jones of the belt but his days with the title are likely numbered.
When Jones got popped at UFC 200 last summer he blamed the USADA violation on a tainted male enhancement pill. Anytime a fighter gets popped nowadays the go to is to say they took a tainted substance.
Even if Jones is cleared or strikes a deal with USADA Dana White and the UFC will be reluctant to promote him and put him in a main event anytime soon. Jones has proven to be unprofessional and keeps getting caught with his pants down when the new UFC owners need him most. With Brock Lesnar, Dan Henderson and Ronda Rousey retired the UFC is having a hard time building up new stars and Jones was supposed to be the guy to headline three or four shows a year to help keep the UFC going until they built up new talent to his level.
It will be interesting to see what Cormier will say about Jones’ situation. He was pretty rough on Jones leading up to the fight but has gone into seclusion since the loss and hasn’t said anything except a statement on Instagram congratulating Jones and his team on the win.
Stay tuned. I’m sure there is more to this story.