According to TMZ, Ultimate Fighting Championship light-heavyweight champion Jon ‘Bones’ Jones tested positive for the steroid turinabol.
According to the New York Times, if the test result, announced late Tuesday, is substantiated, he might not return to the octagon for a long time — if ever.
Jones returned to the octagon after a one-year suspension, defeating Daniel Cormier to reclaim the UFC light-heavyweight championship.
The United States’ Anti-Doping Agency said in a statement:
“Jones ‘has been notified of a potential anti doping policy violation stemming from an in-competition sample” collected the day before his title bout against Daniel Cormier at U.F.C. 214 last month.”
Jones’ status is up in the air. His manager, Malki Kawa released statement stating:
“Jon, his trainers, his nutritionists and his entire camp have worked tirelessly and meticulously the past 12 months to avoid this exact situation.” The statement also said that they would have his samples tested again.”
Cormier spoke with MMAFighting.com last week and said:
“It’s hard to find words to describe how I’m feeling right now. I’m disappointed to hear the news. It’s very emotional.
“We as athletes are entitled to due process, and I will refrain from saying much more until I know exactly what happened.
“In my mind, on July 29, I competed and I lost. I thought Jon Jones was the better man that day. I don’t know what to think anymore. I can’t believe we are going through all of this again. We will see what happens next.
“Thank you to all my fans who have supported me during this dark time. I love you all very much.”
In a recent interview on Scoop B Radio, Jones said that if he was no longer a UFC fighter, he’d he a police officer. “I know it’s not the most popular profession,” Jon ‘Bones’ Jones told Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson.
Added Jones:
“But, being a cop is cool to me. These guys are here to serve and protect, there the one’s that rescue your mom when you’re not there, help your grandma when she falls down. I look for the good guys in the law enforcement agencies and what they have to offer.”
Jones indicated that his perception of law enforcement changed when he was in high school.
“On lunch breaks, a police officer would stand and watch over us during recess,” recounted Jones. “I used to go up to police officers and would talk to them about their career. They used to teach me a lot of life lessons about people and some of the negative things of the world and things I wasn’t aware of and I just found it very fascinating. I made up my mind that I would be like the guy carrying the gun and helping others out. It didn’t happen like that, but I’m glad I chose the path that I chose.”
Among employment, Jon Jones also discussed diversity in UFC:
“You don’t see a lot of MMA schools in the inner city,” Jones said. “You don’t see a lot of MMA schools in the hood.”
Jones said it starts with change:
“The main start would be to give more black kids opportunities,” Jones said on Scoop B Radio. “You have local boxing programs at the local Boys & Girls Club—that’s the way a lot of great boxers got started. You don’t typically see a lot of black males join wrestling teams and wrestling is a great avenue to get into mixed martial arts.”
Jones came from a wrestling background like Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans. “Us black fighters need to just continue winning and showing what MMA can do for you can just change the minds of young men globally,” he said.
“They’ll see that it’s an avenue for success and they don’t just have to be a basketball player, or a boxer or the next NFL player—they can be the next UFC fighter. They can be the next Rampage, they can be the next Jon ‘Bones’ Jones.”
