UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones failed a drug test ahead of his championship win over Daniel Cormier.
The failed test was conducted the day before UFC 214 last month in Anaheim, UFC President Dana White explained in a statement.
According to TMZ, Jones tested positive for the anabolic steroid Turinabol. White did not confirm or deny the identity of the banned substance for which Jones tested positive, state ESPN.
Dana White on Jon Jones, "This might be the end of his career." pic.twitter.com/fu9uGyrgLc
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) August 23, 2017
A rep for Jon Jones released the following statement:
“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.”
The UFC released a statement saying they had been notified by the Anti-Doping Agency of a ‘potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an in-competition sample collected following weigh-in on July 28, 2017’.
The statement continues:
“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.”
This is the second failed drug test of Jones’ tumultuous career. He tested positive for anti-estrogenic agents in another failed test, just days before he was due to fight Cormier at UFC 200 in July 2016. Jones claimed the discrepancy was the result of an unmarked sexual enhancement pill.
This latest scandal comes two years after Jones was suspended and stripped of his light-heavyweight belt after a hit-and-run incident in April 2015 that left a pregnant woman with a broken arm.
At the time, he expressed great remorse and apologised to those he had let down.
