Alexander Gustafsson took one last shot at Jon Jones ahead of their highly anticipated rematch at UFC 232. During the ceremonial pre-fight weigh-in, Gustafsson donned a shirt with the word "doping" crossed out.
Jones tested positive for Turinabol, an anabolic steroid, in 2017 and was stripped of his lightweight heavyweight title. He also served a 15-month suspension from the USADA and paid a $205,000 fine to the state of California. But Jones found himself in the center of another controversial doping storm when USADA reported an atypical finding of a drug test Jones submitted in early December. The findings showed the presence of the same long-term M3 metabolite, but USADA ruled that the amount found in Jones's system was consistent with "residual amounts" of the initial 2017 test.
Regardless, the abnormal drug test has sparked renewed debate over whether Jon Jones is a cheater. For Gustafsson, it's no question. "Yes, I do," Gustafsson said when he was asked if Jones is a cheater during the UFC 232 press conference. "This guy is not confident. He’s gotta put stuff in his body to be confident."
Despite the debate, Jones and Gustafsson will go on as planned and come tonight, there will be no excuses for either fighter. You can watch the UFC 232 weight-in below; Gustafsson's weigh-in comes at around the 21:30 mark.
The light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson will co-headline UFC 232 tonight, December 29.