5 reasons why the UFC should've pulled Jon Jones from UFC 232 and suspended him
In what’s undoubtedly one of the most stunning UFC moments of 2018 – if not of all time – it was announced last night that UFC 232, scheduled for 12/29/18, will be moved from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. The reason for the change? Jon Jones, of course.
Jones, who is set to face Alexander Gustafsson for the vacant UFC Light-Heavyweight title in the main event of the show, has apparently been flagged for an ‘abnormal’ drug test in which trace metabolites of turinabol – the PED that he was caught using after his 2017 fight with Daniel Cormier – were found in his system.
Despite the UFC and USADA denying that this was a positive test – they claim the traces were probably leftovers from the initial positive test in July 2017 – it would’ve required an investigation from the Nevada State Athletic Commission that would’ve ruled Jones out of a fight on 12/29. So should the UFC really have simply moved the show to California, where Jones can get a licence?
I’m leaning towards no; the UFC should instead have pulled the fight from the card and probably suspended Jones, too, and here are 5 reasons why.
#1 It’s a huge black eye on the sport
Despite the UFC claiming they are committed to cleaning up the sport of MMA due to so many historical positive tests for PEDs, and their partnership with the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) since 2015, the fact that Jones is being allowed to fight in a few days brings into question the promotion’s true motive when it comes to this subject.
Sure, USADA can claim that Jones obtained no performance-enhancing effects from the trace amounts of turinabol that he’s tested positive for this time, but if this were one of the undercard fighters booked on UFC 232 – say Brian Kelleher or Curtis Millender – would this reaction have remained the same? Or would that fighter have been removed until the situation could be cleared up fully?
The fact is that – in the eyes of the fans, at least – this feels like Jones receiving special treatment from the UFC and USADA where no quarter has been granted in the past. With the UFC already being accused of giving some fighters special treatment when it comes to PEDs – that’s the basis of Mark Hunt’s lawsuit against the promotion – it’s worrying to see them willing to move a big show across states for the want of a single fighter.
However you look at it – and even if Jones is as clean as he claims – this is a huge black eye on a sport which is desperately trying to find a cleaner image.