Jones swears on his children he 'would never do steroids'

Jon Jones has finally broken his silence without a buffer.

Responding to a fan imploring him to own up to his latest trial on Twitter, Jones directly addressed his failed UFC 214 drug test Thursday for the first time since the USADA flagged him for anabolic steroid Turinabol late in August.

The now-former light heavyweight champion swore on both his offspring and the man upstairs that he would never indulge in performance-enhancing drugs.

Jones' claim comes not 48 hours after the B sample of the fateful test came back positive, confirming the steroid was in his system the day he weighed in for his long-awaited rematch with Daniel Cormier. The UFC has since stripped him of the light heavyweight title he took from Cormier via third-round TKO, reinstated his rival as champion, and removed him from its rankings. Meanwhile, the California State Athletic Commission - the sanctioning body of the July card - has overturned the fight's result to a no-contest.

Due to his status as a repeat offender, Jones now faces a ban of up to four years from the USADA, as well as sanctions from the CSAC.

The 30-year-old had kept mum on the debacle in the immediate aftermath of his hot A sample, although his manager, Malki Kawa, was quick to blame the failed test on a tainted supplement.

Jones returned to face Cormier at UFC 214 just weeks after a one-year ban that scrapped their date at UFC 200 expired. The former champ attributed last year's violation to a tainted sexual enhancement pill. He has now been stripped of the promotion's light heavyweight crown three times - including the interim title he won in a bout with Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197.