The California State Athletic Commission held a hearing today to set former UFC champion Jon Jones’s punishment for testing positive for a banned steroid after beating Daniel Cormier last July. As many anticipated, he was fined $205,000 and stripped of his license for a year. However, Jones was not suspended by the CSAC, as a future United States Anti-Doping Agency suspension is still forthcoming. If USADA is lenient (which is doubtful, since this is not Jones’s first offense), then today’s hearing made it unlikely that CSAC will add on extra punishment on top of a USADA suspension.
It’s good news for Jones, sort of, though chances are still low that he’ll fight in 2018. If USADA suspends him for one year (backdated to the violation), the earliest he’ll be eligible to reapply for a license is August.
Jones offered no compelling counterarguments in the hearing, blaming his “bad luck” above all else. The best part of the hearing came when CSAC commissioner Martha Shen-Urquidez cross-examined Jones and got him to admit that he never completed mandatory USADA online educational classes. “I’m gonna be honest with you I, never did that,” he said, adding, “I had my management do it for me.” The exchange occurs at 2:05:42 in the below video.
If for some reason you decide to watch the full video, your reward will be Jones talking about “male enhancement” a whole bunch.