UFC again strips Jon Jones of light heavyweight title

UFC star Jon Jones has not lost a fight since he was disqualified against Matt Hamill in 2009 for the first and only defeat of his career.

Yet Jones now has managed to lose his UFC title twice in the last two years.

The enigmatic fighter has been stripped of the UFC interim light heavyweight title. UFC president Dana White told ESPN of the organization’s decision Wednesday morning.

“Jon Jones has blown it in every way shape and form a guy with that much talent can blow it,” White told ESPN. ”Greatest talent ever and the biggest screw-up ever.”

Jones was issued a one-year suspension Monday by an arbitration panel that heard his appeal with the United States Anti-Doping Agency. He was pulled from a headlining bout at UFC 200 just days before the his scheduled unification fight with champion Daniel Cormier when an out-of-competition drug test came back positive for two estrogen blockers.

He argued that positive result was because of a tainted sexual-performance pill he took. Arbitrators found that even though the pill was responsible, Jones was at-fault for his lack of due-diligence on what he was ingesting.

It’s not the first time Jones has lost his belt without suffering a loss. He had the light heavyweight title stripped in April 2015 when he was arrested for his involvement in a hit-and-run accident.

Jones, 29, missed a year of competition before defeating Ovince Saint Preux for the interim belt in April. He still faces a disciplinary hearing in front of the Nevada Athletic Commission for the failed drug test.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.