Jon Jones is one of the most electrifying fighters in the UFC. Many consider him the best fighter in the world. But his illustrious career has been overshadowed by legal issues and doping controversies.
Most recently,
Jones defeated Daniel Cormier back at UFC 214 in July 2017, re-capturing the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship after he had previously been stripped of the title due to a doping violate. But again, the USADA flagged Jones a doping violation and confirmed that both the "A" and "B" sample of tested positive for Turinabol. His fight with Cormier was overturned to a "no contest" and Jones was once again stripped of his championship belt, which returned to Cormier.
On Wednesday, the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced that Jones has been suspended for 15 months after testing positive for metabolites of an anabolic steroid on July 28, 2017. But here's the catch, the suspension is retroactive to the date of the test. That means Jones has already served nearly 14 months and can technically return to the Octagon as early as late October.
Jones, who must complete three months community service and pay a $205,000 fine to regain his fight license, took to social media to express his gratitude.
UFC president Dana White has indicated that Jones' return to the Octagon would be in early 2019. His opponent is obviously still a mystery, but depending on how the chips fall,
Jones could be looking at a matchup against Brock Lesnar. However, a feud between current Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and Brock Lesnar would presumably have to be settled first.
Lesnar made a surprise showing at UFC 226 and shoved Cormier after his victory over Stipe Miocic. Since then, the two fighters
have traded barbs on social media, but not fight has been officially announced.
But if you recall, prior to all of this drama,
Jones had been the first to challenge Brock Lesnar all the way back in 2017 when he took down Cormier. Obviously, we'll have to see how this all plays out, but it's exciting nonetheless that Jon Jones will be returning to fight in the UFC very soon.