Jon Jones granted temporary MMA license, will fight Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232
Jon Jones has gotten the green light to head back into the cage.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion was granted a temporary license by the California State Athletic Commission on Tuesday, which means his fight with Alexander Gustafsson is going forward. Jones and Gustafsson are set to fight at UFC 232 on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas.
The license is only temporary until Jones meets his community service condition. According to MMAFighting.com, Jones must submit a community service plan to the commission, and then his license will be fully reinstated. Jones’ license was originally revoked at a commission hearing in February, and he was fined $205,000.
Jones hasn’t fought since July 2017, when he defeated Daniel Cormier to recapture the UFC light heavyweight championship. Less than a month after that fight, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found that a urine sample collected prior to the fight had tested positive for Turinabol, an anabolic steroid. The commission overturned the fight to a no contest result and UFC president Dana White stripped Jones of his title.
Jones was originally looking at a four-year suspension from the USADA, but his lawyers were able to prove that he ingested Turinabol unintentionally and the suspension was reduced to 15 months. His tests came back clean in early July and October 2017, with only his pre-fight test returning a positive result. Additionally, 15 supplements were tested for traces of Turinabol, along with massage creams, and the steroid was not found in any of them. Jones maintains that he has no idea how he came to ingest the steroid.
Jones had a voracious defender during Tuesday’s hearing: Andy Foster, the executive director of the California State Athletic Commission. According to MMAFighting.com, Foster was critical of how the USADA handled Jones’ case, and said he believed that Jones didn’t intentionally take steroids.
“I do not think Mr. Jones is intentionally a doper,” Foster said. “I just don’t believe it. If he is, he’s the worst doper in combat sports. He fails the one test he knows is coming.”
In light of his past positive tests (Jones tested positive two other times prior to July 2017) and his assertion that he didn’t intentionally take steroids, the commission suggested that Jones also submit to additional voluntary drug tests for 3-4 months. Commissioner Martha Shen-Urquidez told Jones that the voluntary testing could help silence those who doubt he doped by accident. Jones has not yet agreed to any additional testing.
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