Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will no doubt raise some eyebrows with comments downplaying his repeated drug test failures for performance enhancers, and accusations that he’s fought other doping fighters as well.
Jon Jones wants everyone to know he’s not a cheater, despite two suspensions under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy. The former UFC light heavyweight champion, who has the dubious honor of being the only UFC fighter stripped of three separate titles (the light heavyweight title twice, and interim light heavyweight title once), recently appeared on Jackson-Wink’s JW Raw, and discussed the test failures and accusations that he’s a dirty fighter. On the show, he claimed USADA found “just a pinch” of steroids in his system, saying the anti-doping organization compared his levels to a pinch of salt in a swimming pool.
To those that claim there’s an asterisk next to his accomplishments due to multiple drug test failures, Jones claimed that “I would say that those would be people who are looking for an excuse not to give it to me, not to give credit where it’s due.”
“Because in the first situation, it was proven — well, in both situations, whatever was in me chemically was proven scientifically that the amounts were so small that there was no way possible to affect my performance in a positive or a negative way.” Jones, of course, is referring to his failed drug tests connected to UFC 200 in 2016 and UFC 214 the following year.
“The two times where I’ve failed drug tests for performance enhancers,” he continued, “like I said it’s been so small that it cannot affect your performance.”
Referring to the UFC 200 incident, which he infamously blamed on d*ck pills, Jones questioned “who takes a male enhancement pill expecting to fight better? I mean, nobody. We actually found the company, we found the exact pills, we ordered the pills and the pills came back with stuff in it that wasn’t supposed to be in there. Such a small amount that it’s not going to make you fight any better or make you stronger.”
“Then in the second situation,” Jones continued, “we just found out, to have USADA say ‘the amount of steroids we found in your body Jon, it was like taking a pinch of salt and throwing it in an Olympic size swimming pool. It was such a small amount that it’s pretty obvious that this was an accident. And then for this to be something that got into your body two weeks before the fight — so two weeks before the fight, you took a pinch of steroids and threw it in an Olympic size swimming pool. You know, it’s very clear that this is nothing that helped you knock out Daniel Cormier.’”
Jones did not specify who from USADA made the comments. However, he added that “so after what I said, if you still want to call me a cheater, then you just don’t want to admit that I’m pretty good.”
Jones also pointed out, while professing his innocence, that “I’m pretty sure I’ve fought guys on steroids throughout my career. And I’m not going to call anybody out. But guys were glaringly on steroids when I fought them, and they still lost.”
“Steroids doesn’t give you IQ, it doesn’t give you timing, it doesn’t give you strategy, it doesn’t give you heart, it doesn’t give you courage to get out there,” he finished. “What does it do? I guess recovery time.”
Jones returns at UFC 232 this January, where he takes on Alexander Gustafsson in the main event.
