Jon Jones Suspended One Year By USADA
It looks like the return of Jon "Bones" Jones has been postponed even longer, one year to be exact. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced the ban Monday morning.
MGSS Arbitration Panel Imposes One-Year Sanction on UFC Athlete, Jones, for Anti-Doping Policy Violation https://t.co/rggN1DSAWe
— USADA (@usantidoping) November 7, 2016
The former champion was found in violation of UFC Anti-Doping Policy from an out of competition urine test taken on June 16th, 2016. Clomiphene and Letrozole, two banned substances were found present in the former champion's urine.
Following the violation, Jones claimed teammate Eric Blasich had given him a pill which Jones believed to be Cialis, a form of Tadalafil and a drug that was not listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) banned substance list at the time of ingestion.
However, it was later revealed that the pill was another form of Tadalafil and was purchased by Blasich on a website titled AllAmericanPeptide.com.
In recent months, USADA has obtained samples of the Tadalafil from AllAmericanPeptide.com and found that it indeed was contaminated and contained samples of the banned substances found in Jones' urine.
Although it was ultimately ruled that Jones was not a cheat, his ingestion of the "Cialis" without confirmation of what it contained was considered "reckless". The one year suspension handed to Jones was the maximum sentence for his violation.
According to USADA's website:
"Jones' one-year period of ineligibility began on July 6, 2016, the date of his provisional sanction. In addition, Jones has been disqualified from all competitive results obtained on and subsequent to July 6, 2016, including forfeiture of any title, ranking, purse, or other compensation."
Jones may still face additional punishment from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, although no official date for his hearing has been set.