UFC interim light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will serve a doping ban until next July after an arbitration panel denied his appeal of a positive test.
Widely considered the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter, Jones was pulled from a July bout against Daniel Cormier shortly after news about the positive drug test.
Jones claimed to have taken a sexual-enhancement pill but ended up testing positive for two banned anti-estrogen agents.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency , which handles UFC testing, declared Jones ineligible. He took the case to arbitration and that panel delivered the maximum one-year suspension, saying Jones’ “degree of fault verged on the reckless.”
Jones is eligible again on July 7, 2017.
UFC issued a statement saying it was aware of the one-year ban, which began on July 6.
“While the decision indicates no evidence of Jones’ intentional use of banned substances, it does highlight the care and diligence that is required by athletes competing in the UFC to ensure that no prohibited substances enter their system,” the UFC statement says.
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