Jon Jones receives 1-year ban for USADA violation
The verdict is in, and it isn't good for Jon Jones.
The UFC interim light heavyweight champion received a full one-year suspension from the USADA for a doping violation that was reported this past July, according to an official release Monday.
On Oct. 31, Jones became the first fighter to enter an arbitration case with the USADA. His attorney, Howard Jacobs, was confident his client would get a reduced suspension after the agency's independent testing corroborated their defense that Jones accidentally used a tainted supplement. Instead, Jones will be ineligible to compete until July 6, 2017, retroactive to the date when the violation was reported.
Jones was removed from UFC 200 three days before the event when news of his failed test broke. Estrogen blockers were found in Jones' out-of-competition sample collected on June 16. Those substances are banned due to their potential use in steroid cycles.
The UFC's statement emphasizes that "the decision indicates no evidence of Jones' intentional use of banned substances."
Jones' legal team presented the three-person arbitration panel with a tainted supplement defense, claiming that the substances entered Jones' system without his knowledge. Conversely, the panel found that "Jones' degree of fault was at the very top end of the scale," which resulted in them issuing the full suspension.
The arbitrators elaborated on their decision in an extended statement published by the USADA, specifically referring to Jones previously pointing to a sexual-performance enhancer as the origin of the violation:
"On the evidence before the Panel, the Applicant is not a drug cheat. He did not know that the tablet he took contained prohibited substances or that those substances had the capacity to enhance sporting performance. However by his imprudent use of what he pungently referred to as a 'dick pill' he has not only lost a year of his career but an estimated nine million dollars. This outcome which he admits to be a wake-up call for him should serve as a warning to all others who participate in the same sport."
The 29-year-old fighter won an interim belt in his last appearance in April when he defeated Ovince Saint Preux by unanimous decision. He was scheduled to face Daniel Cormier in a championship unification bout in the main event of UFC 200, but that bout was canceled in light of Jones' positive drug test.
A meeting with the Nevada State Athletic Commission still awaits Jones, which could result in further sanctions.
As of Monday, Jones was still listed on the UFC's website as the interim champion at 205 pounds, but that status is likely to be rescinded shortly.