Jon Jones releases statement following CSAC hearing

Shortly after the completion of his doping hearing with the California State Athletic Commission, Jon Jones took to Twitter to release a brief statement.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion was in Anaheim, Calif., on Tuesday to plead his case to the CSAC in the hopes of avoiding a fine and a revocation of his MMA license in regards to the failed in-competition drug test tied to his UFC 214 bout with Daniel Cormier last July.

After three hours of testimony that included a lengthy questioning of Jones himself, it was decided that Jones would receive a $205,000 fine and his license would be revoked, with further sanctions from the United States Anti-Doping Agency pending.

Jones, 30, wrote a single sentence on social media to comment on the hearing, expressing his gratitude to the commission and executive officer Andy Foster in particular:

Though Foster was in favor of the recommended sanctions, he added that from a “personal view” he believed that Jones’s failed test for the steroid Turinabol was the result of a tainted supplement as Jones’s team argued, despite their inability to provide ample evidence to back up this claim.

“This makes no sense for him to take this drug on a test that he knows is coming,” Foster said. “That doesn’t make any sense to me whatsoever.”

Foster later added: “I want to be very clear that I do not believe that we should end Mr. Jones’s career today. But I do believe he should sit out for a while. He’s already sat out a good while. I guarantee you he’s already missed a fight or two that he could have made money on, I guarantee it.

“I think we should revoke his license. That’s what my recommendation is. I don’t think Mr. Jones gets to be a professional mixed martial artist right now. That’s what I believe. Let him deal with USADA, let USADA give their discipline, whatever it’s going to be. When that’s completed, I would be inclined to support Mr. Jones’s application to return to this commission and get his license back.”