UFC star Jon Jones handed one-year ban for failed test

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones can take solace in the fact a panel of three arbitrators that heard his anti-doping suspension appeal last week in Los Angeles came to the conclusion he’s not a cheater based on the presented evidence.

Jones will have plenty of time to revel in that conclusion as he serves the maximum one-year suspension that same panel handed down.

The suspension is retroactive to July 6, the day Jones was informed of his positive test.

After hearing the cases presented by both Jones’ attorney and the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the panel handed down the maximum penalty to Jones for a failed out-of-competition drug test in July that prompted his removal from the main event of UFC 200 just days before the card at T-Mobile Arena.

Jones argued a sexual performance pill he got from a friend contained clomiphene and Letrozol, which are specified substances on the prohibited list. According to a record of the hearing, USADA conceded the argument as independent analysis of the pill Jones provided, as well as a package purchased separately, tested positive for the substances which weren’t on the label.

Where Jones was at fault was failing to disclose what he was taking and failing to show any sort of effort to avoid such an issue.

Jones, 29, claims to have cleared the use of Cialis with his management. On one particluar occasion, however, Jones received a pill from a friend, Eric Blasich, that was “like Cialis.”

That happened just days before Jones was tested on June 16.

The panel concluded Jones fault “was at the top end of the scale.”

“In short, (Jones) made an advance enquiry about a product Cialis which he did not take,” the decision read. “He made no enquiry at all about the Tadalafil pill which he did take. He simply relied upon his teammate to tell him what it was and how it could enhance sexual pleasure.

”His degree of fault in fact verged on the reckless. It therefore concludes that the maximum sanction of twelve months subject only to the deduction of the period of suspension served will be consonant with the facts as found.”

The verdict wasn’t all bad for Jones, though.

“On the evidence before the Panel, the Applicant is not a drug cheat,” it read. “He did not know that the tablet he took contained prohibited substances or that those substances had the capacity to enhance sporting performance. However, by his imprudent use … he has not only lost a year of his career but an estimated ($9 million. This outcome which he admits to be a wake-up call for him should serve as a warning to all others who participate in the same sport.”

Jones still has to go in front of the Nevada Athletic Commission, which also has jurisdiction to issue a penalty for the same positive drug test. His case was slated to be on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting, but his representatives have asked for and been granted a continuance.

UFC officials hope Jones’ case serves as a learning experience for other fighters.

“While the decision indicates no evidence of Jones’ intentional use of banned substances, it does highlight the care and diligence that is required by athletes competing in the UFC to ensure that no prohibited substances enter their system,” a statement read.

Jones is currently the interim light heavyweight champion. He was stripped of the belt last year when he was arrested on hit-and-run charges in Albuquerque, N.M.

SUPER SATURDAY

The UFC is taking its annual Super Saturday show on the road.

Houston will be the site of a UFC Fight Night event on Feb. 4, the night before the city hosts the Super Bowl.

The organization typically does a pay-per-view event on Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas. UFC 169, however, took place in Newark, New Jersey, the night before the Super Bowl was held down the road in East Rutherford.

No fights have been announced for the card at Toyota Center, which has previously hosted four UFC events. The last was UFC 192 in October 2015.

HARDY WORKING HARD

Former NFL star Greg Hardy is taking his transition to MMA seriously, according to at least one of the coaches at American Top Team.

Former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Mike Brown told celebrity news site TMZ the former Panthers and Cowboys defensive end is living at the gym as he tries to speed up the process of learning his new craft.

“He’s staying in the dorms we have upstairs,” Brown told the website. “It’s for guys who are really in intensive training. He seems to have the drive and desire.”

Hardy, whose history with domestic violence is well documented, was arrested in September on cocaine possession charges. The 28-year-old last played in the NFL in 2015. He announced a desire to fight professionally not long after the arrest made it even more unlikely he would sign with another team.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.