There was plenty of controversy heading into the light heavyweight championship fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustaffson at UFC 232 a few weekends ago. Jones had failed a pre-fight drug test which made him ineligible to fight in the state of Nevada. This forced the UFC to move the fight to California, which Jones eventually won.
After the fight, Jones underwent more tests and they all came back clean, according to ESPN. California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster explained that the tests showed no trace of the M3 metabolite that made Jones fail the test the first time around.
"I can only go by what the scientists have told me," Foster explained to ESPN. "And what this tells me is that on the night of the fight, and leading up to the fight, Jon Jones was not doping."
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Jones had originally failed a drug test in 2017 for having the M3 metabolite present. Although, it was explained that Jones would be living with remnants of it in his system for seven years. For Jones, it just goes to show that the test from before the fight shouldn't have counted.
"They probably shouldn't have even been brought up," Jones said. "It's such a small amount that it has no effect. I think the professionals, whether it's USADA or the UFC, are realizing, 'Jon is kind of like a guinea pig in this situation.' I was almost wronged in this situation."
The UFC has stated that Jon Jones will defend his light heavyweight title at UFC 235 against Anthony Smith on March 2nd.
