Jon Jones is officially licensed to compete at UFC 232 next week against Alexander Gustafsson, but he’s deciding not to participate in the VADA drug testing recommended by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC).
The commission made the proposal at Jones’ licensing hearing last week, but after looking into the testing, Jones and his legal team have opted out of VADA testing.
“There were issues with the proposal,” attorney Howard Jacobs told MMAFighting. “We asked questions and were unable to fully resolve it.”
Jacobs didn’t elaborate on what the issues were with the testing, or what the questions were that they had, but Jones will be continuing with the Gustafsson fight, just without the additional testing.
“It was always an optional thing anyway,” CSAC executive officer Andy Foster told MMA Fighting. “This was to help Mr. Jones out. Obviously, we don’t have any problems with USADA’s analytical findings at this time for mixed martial arts. This entire case was brought about due to an analytical finding from a USADA test. We wish Mr. Jones success.”
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Jones will still be tested by USADA as part of UFC’s anti-doping program for the Dec. 29 fight. Jones is coming off of a 15-month suspension after failing a drug test surrounding his July 2017 fight with Daniel Cormier. He could have faced as much as a four-year ban but had the suspension reduced after arbitration.
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