UFC Bantamweight Trevin Jones speaks to Connor Northrup of MyMMANews.
After NSAC’s decision on cannabis, Trevin Jones wants UFC-debut win back
Trevin Jones wants the UFC to fight for him.
After the Nevada State Athletic Commission came to the decision to not punish fighters who test positive for cannabis on Wednesday, July 7, “5 Star” wants the promotion to try and overturn the no contest he received in his UFC debut.
Jones earned a second-round knockout of Timur Valiev in his UFC debut in Las Vegas, Nevada, but the victory was taken away after testing positive for cannabis.
“I feel like they [UFC] should be backing me up to get that win right now because it just doesn’t make sense,” Jones said.
“I understand you got a lot of guys with no contest because of marijuana, but their case is different from mine. They were already in the UFC and took a late fight, which is kind of their fault, mine, I was not in the UFC and I still saved the day.”
Trevin Jones says no contests should turn into victories
Jones is approaching his third octagon appearance at UFC Fight Night 191 on July 24, but his debut is still lingering in his mind.
The 30-year-old accepted the fight with Valiev on 34-hours notice and notified the commission he smoked cannabis before being signed by the UFC. Jones chose an honest route, but still had his “Performance of the Night” victory wiped from his record.
Less than a year later, Jones would not lose his victory if he tested positive for cannabis. Jones is adamant the state should award the victories back to those subject to the former rule.
“It just feels unfair, I think they should go back to everyone in the last year at least and overturn their wins back,” Jones said. “You guys knew you were turning toward that favor a long time before you made that ‘Yes’ decision.”
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Fair and square
Jones’ victory earned recognition all over the globe at the time. His knockout was included in ESPN’s Top-Five moments and was nominated for Comeback of the Year.
Nevada’s decision to overturn the victory took all of it away according to Jones. The Guam native even lost some of his fight purse.
“I won the fight fair and square, it was two-days notice, I declared it, I did my part. It’s not like I said I didn’t smoke marijuana and went out there and got caught for marijuana,” Jones said. “There were a lot of things taken away from me. I was suspended for four and a half months. The least you could do is give me my win back.”
Results
Jones is confident his win will never return to his record. He finally earned his first official octagon victory by finishing Mario Bautista by second-round TKO at UFC 259 last March.
Even though Jones is still waiting to find out who the replacement is for the injured Tony Kelley on July 24, he expects another victory nonetheless.
An established member of the UFC’s bantamweight division, Jones knows what is expected of him. He is staying away from cannabis before his fight.
To this day, Jones sees the Valiev fight as a victory in more ways than one. He overcame a short-notice fight, made weight and became the second person to beat Valiev at the time.
The win is gone, but the confidence he gained from the experience is very well present.
“After that Timur fight, my confidence is kind of through the roof, not cocky, but kind of to the roof,” Jones said. “At the end of the day when everything is going my way, yes, it’s not an opponent I have ready and set anymore, but I put way more into that Timur fight, so I am staying positive because of those results.”
