Jones, Lesnar could face shorter USADA suspensions

Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar may have caught a break.

According to MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) can only suspend Jones and Lesnar for a maximum of one year, not two as was originally reported.

Jones and Lesnar both tested positive for an anti-estrogenic agent, Hydroxy-clomiphene. The former was also flagged for a Letrozole metabolite, an aromatase inhibitor. Both substances fall under the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) list of "specified substances," hence the shorter suspension.

WADA decrees that said substances are more likely to be taken inadvertently, making them "susceptible to a credible non-doping explanation," which would prompt a tribunal to be more lenient when deciding the fighters' penance.

The minimum penalty for ingesting a specified substance is a public warning, with the right to go to arbitration should either fighter wish to appeal the verdict. Arbitration is typically handled by the American Arbitration Association, which operates independently of the USADA.

Lesnar, who failed in and out-of-competition drug tests in June and July, respectively, will not face additional punishment for the second test. The results of the first test were not delivered in time for UFC 200, allowing Lesnar to fight Mark Hunt in the co-main event. He won by unanimous decision.

Jones tested positive in an out-of-competition test taken in June, and was pulled from his title match with Daniel Cormier at the same event as a result.

Both fighters have been temporarily suspended, and both are subject to additional sanctions by the Nevada Athletic Commission, also independent of the USADA.