Jon Jones' triumphant return to action at UFC 214 has now turned into a horror story as the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has announced that Jones has failed an in-competition drug test.
TMZ is reporting that the illegal substance Jones failed for is a steroid called Turinabol; neither the UFC nor USADA have announced what substance he failed for.
Despite a report from Fox Sports saying Cormier is getting the title back, ESPN's Brett Okamoto is saying that Jones has yet to be formally stripped of the title.
CONFIRMED with Dana White: Jon Jones failed drug test at UFC 214. Per White, he hasn't been formally stripped of title yet. Wow.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) August 23, 2017
USADA has also provisionally suspended Jones and the fighter could be facing a two-plus year suspension since he is a multiple time offender, this is according to MMA Fighting.
The bout at UFC 214 was Jones first encounter since UFC 197 and also the first since he was suspended for a drug test failure just before UFC 200.
Jones had been calling out former UFC Heavyeight Champion Brock Lesnar for a super fight, but obviously that fight and many others for Jones won’t be happening now.
A statement has been issued by the UFC:
The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Jon Jones of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an in-competition sample collected following his weigh-in on July 28, 2017.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Jones, as it relates to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and future UFC participation. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) also retains jurisdiction over this matter as the sample collection was performed the day before Jones’ bout at UFC 214 in Anaheim, CA, and USADA will work to ensure that the CSAC has the necessary information to determine its proper judgment of Jones’ potential anti-doping violation.
Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.
Malki Kawa is the manager of Jones and the following statement was issued to MMA Fighting by Jones' camp.
We are all at a complete loss for words right now. Jon, his trainers, his nutritionists and his entire camp have worked tirelessly and meticulously the past 12 months to avoid this exact situation. We are having the samples tested again to determine the validity or source of contamination. Jon is crushed by this news and we are doing whatever we can as a team, to support him.
