Yesterday, Dana White and the UFC announced that Jon Jones was being pulled from the main event UFC 200 against Daniel Cormier, due to a potential USADA drug test violation on June 16. The news was disappointing for the UFC and fans, but even more so for Jones.
Today, an emotional, tearful Jones met with the media in Las Vegas to address his drug test results and removal from the biggest show in UFC history. He and his team did not have a great deal to share with the media, but here are a few of the major statements that were made during the thirty minute presser.
- Jones began by apologizing to the fans, UFC, and Daniel Cormier.
- Jones’ “B” sample will be tested today. Jones’ manager Malki Kawa hopes this sample will exonerate Jones, but doubts it. They could have the results of the “B” sample tonight.
- Jones claimed to be against performance enhancers and would never take anything to cheat.
- Kawa claimed that Jones’ situation could be similar to Yoel Romero’s, where a tainted supplement was ingested. At the same time, he also said that Jones is “1000% clean.”
- Jones said that he has not talked to Dana White, but told Lorenzo Fertitta that he “would never cheat.”
- Jones felt that this would not affect his probation in any way.
- If suspended for two years, Jones says would definitely return to MMA because, “at the end of the day I am a fighter.”
That was essentially it. Jones cried a lot during the press conference. Currently, we still don’t know what he failed for, except that it was a “metabolite.” That could mean a lot of things, but it appears that the “tainted supplement” issue/argument has reared its ugly head once again.
Jones continues to be the “most interesting man in the world.”
well, apparently one of the two he failed for is a masking agent… which… makes it pretty clear this was intentional (we all know that, but this dog and pony show today was offensive to me)