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:
I want to thank csac for taking the time and hearing my case, and executive officer Andy Foster for saying he believes me.
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.”