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Jon Jones is the kind of UFC drug user that American sports fans hate: a lying drug user

By Zach Arnold | August 22, 2017

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The UFC legacy of Jon Jones can be summarized in one sentence: the only man who could stop Jon Jones was Jon Jones. He is his own worst enemy.



Image credit: Black Sports Online

The history of Mixed Martial Arts is littered with hardcore drug users. Doping isn’t necessarily a career killer in the eyes of American sports fans. It’s how you handle the public relations. Absurd, but true. If you’re apologetic and wink-wink, fans will give you a second chance. If you are shameless and claim you need testosterone to function as a fighter and as a man (e.g. Chael Sonnen), people will laugh along with your charade and continue watching your fights. He still has a career in Bellator.

But what you can’t do is lie about using steroids once you get caught and then misrepresent your future intentions. That, for some bizarre reason in America, is when the book will get thrown at you. Call it the Lance Armstrong problem. Being unrepentant about doping won’t automatically kill your career. Lying about being unrepentant will.

Jon Jones got busted for the steroid Turinabol. Reportedly a pre-fight drug test prior to UFC 214.

How stupid do you have to be to put yourself into a situation where you were given a second chance to make millions of dollars in fights lined up against Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson, and Brock Lesnar? Talk about printing money as fast as the Federal Reserve.

Now it’s all gone. Finished. You can forget about it. Jon Jones will be inactive for at least another year, if not two years. He’s fortunate in that the depth at Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight is shallow enough to allow him to come back and win again. If people were willing to pay to see Jon Jones beat Daniel Cormier at UFC 214, they’ll be willing to pay to watch him fight in a couple of years. Right?

Where does Daniel Cormier go to get his reputation back? Even without steroid usage, Jon Jones would have likely won the UFC 214 match. That’s the whole problem with doping. You’re left to try to come up with the impossible of measuring someone’s win probability clean vs. doping. Fighters use steroids to recover from previous damage due to steroid usge. Fighters use steroids to recovery from training injuries. Some fighters use steroids because they really are insecure about their performance and need that placebo effect to impact their mental game.

Jon Jones is damaged goods. Daniel Cormier’s reputation is damaged. He’s suffering the same career fate as Michael Bisping. And yet, I still believe that Jon Jones will maintain a more credible athletic reputation amongst UFC fans than Daniel Cormier will. Sad, but true.

Daniel Cormier can’t prove the intent behind Jon Jones doping but he could certainly prove that Jones, given his previous suspensions, had the responsibility and foreseeability to follow the right protocols to not get busted again for doping. Cormier can’t take back the visual image of losing to Jon Jones at UFC 214. He can’t take back the haunting post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. Those are permanent memories.

If UFC cuts ties with Jon Jones, Bellator will sign him after his suspension and make a lot of money. UFC can’t afford to cut Jon Jones, especially if current ownership wants to sell UFC off to a group of hedge funders in a couple of years. Outside of Conor McGregor, Jon Jones is the most valuable PPV asset UFC has. Well, right now he is. He still may be their most valuable asset in two years when the time comes for a Brock Lesnar super fight.

All Jon Jones has to do is follow the right public relations playbook on doping. Is he even capable of doing so?

Topics: CSAC, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 10 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

10 Responses to “Jon Jones is the kind of UFC drug user that American sports fans hate: a lying drug user”

  1. Diaz's packed bowl says:

    This news brought a smile to my face 🙂

    Where does Daniel Cormier go to get his reputation back? Dont you mean Jones? Cormy has never lost his rep, its not damaged one bit since he never cheated and the only person to beat him was busted for peds 2 of the three times the fought or were to fight. AND the first time Jones beat cormy JJ had super low testosterone levels, tsimilar to levels found in ped users cycling off. And how is he like Bisping?!?!? Bisping beat the steroid cheats(finally) and IS the champ.

    “Even without steroid usage, Jon Jones would have likely won the UFC 214 match.”
    Maybe you should have told JJ that… first off Jones has been cheating every time when faced up with cormy which proves he IS NOT confidant in his ability to beat cormy.
    JJ was using, like EVERYONE else to have AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE not because its a “placebo for their mental game”. “Drillers are killers” Kenny Florian.
    “It was just a dick pill” Androstane Silva, jon(hid from drug testers under the gym cage all day) jones, etc…”

    I predicted Jones would lose against Cormier post usada. I was surprised at how good JJ looked and was convinced he was cheating again. Once JJ does his “they’re out to get me” lie and dance and is proven to be guilty the ufc needs to cut him, give the belt back to cormier and never look back at the stain that is JJ.

    Also…Jones will be out at least 2 years. 4 years is likely for his second offense. He’ll struggle against ufc cast offs in bellator in 2021, but I doubt they would sign him since hes such an insufferable low life dirt bag.

    • bully4me says:

      Agree with a lot of what you’re saying. However unless there is EXCEPTIONAL reasons why Jones had these PED”S in his system that without a shadow of a doubt can be proven he did not take them with intent, he is screwed!!

      Don’t see the ANY Commission giving Jones less than the MAX suspension this time. With his track record and most of all just coming back from PED suspension, his VERY FIRST FIGHT!! They will throw the book at him with no mercy. I’d be very surprised if Bones got even a day under the four year max. It just shows he had NO regard or care for his previous transgression, no remorse.

      The UFC won’t let him go. They will hold onto his contract which will be suspended as well during his time off. That will make it so Jones CAN’T fight overseas for another organization. Then in four years the dust will have settled and hopefully this time he will learn a lesson and it will be the BIG Redemption story all over again with the question “Does Jones STILL Have IT”? Unfortunately Jon is too big a star to let go to the competition. Money will win over ethics.

  2. Diaz's packed bowl says:

    talk about a bullshit stoppage!!!

  3. Diaz's packed bowl says:

    Well, Conner showed he belongs in the upper echelon. Nothing to be ashamed of jhe did a great hjoc=b. dont boxing matces usually end when one figher falkls down?

  4. 45 Huddle says:

    That was the most exciting Mayweather fight in years.

    I predicted McGregor would win the fight, and I still feel justified in my prediction. I always thought people like Max Kellerman saying McGregor wouldn’t even land a punch were a joke. And sadly he gets paid for his boxing opinion.

    Mayweather has tried to play it off as him letting McGregor win the first few rounds to tire him out. I think that is just him trying to save face. He is 40 years old and rusty. The only reason he won is because McGregor’s cardio isn’t what it should be for a boxing match.

    McGregor’s stock rose big time here (and I’m not even a fan of his).

    While I don’t think it had a result on the ending… a few non-surprising things I noticed about the shady sport of boxing.

    1. During the pre-fight ref talk, the ref talked only to McGregor for the first 95% of it. Talk about not being neutral.

    2. When Mayweather was turning his back to McGregor, the ref continued to break them up, despite the fact that McGregor legally should have been able to punch him during those moments.

    3. The official score cards were a joke.

    4. The stoppage was pathetically bad. Let them fight it out more.

  5. […] Jones passed California State Athletic Commission drug tests. However, Jon Jones initially tested positive for the oral steroid turinabol in a pre-fight USADA […]

  6. […] ace Jon Jones failed a USADA drug test for the steroid turinabol. The B sample came back positive for […]

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