Alexander Gustafsson’s manager releases statement on Jon Jones’ drug tests
At UFC 232, it was the rematch five years in the making. Alexander Gustafsson was taking on Jon Jones for the vacant light heavyweight championship. The first fight took place in 2013, in which Jones won the fight, but many believe Gustafsson should have won.
However, that was five years ago and come UFC 232 none of that mattered. The card was originally set to take place in Las Vegas but was moved to California due to picogram levels of a long-term metabolite showing up in Jones’ system. USADA and California believe it was the same drug Jones was suspended for following UFC 214. So, the fight went on.
Jones ended up defeating Gustafsson by third-round TKO to reclaim his light heavyweight belt. Following the fight, though, Jones’ Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) test once again showed picogram levels of a long-term metabolite. Thus, showing the ‘pulsing’ impact is real.
However, Gustafsson and his manager Nima Safapour, aren’t buying that. They believe Jones was on steroids and released this statement to MMAFighting.com.
“The inconclusive and inconsistent results that are repeatedly occurring with Jon Jones, at the very least, should compel our industry to have a greater, deeper, and more impartial discussion about the legitimacy of Jon’s defense. Jon has gone out publicly boasting when some of his results come back negative. However, he remains silent when his test results come back positive. You can not have it both ways and cherry-pick the results that are favorable for you, and insist that we disregard the results that go against your interests.
“Jon has essentially received a use exemption on a strict liability violation. The science is not certain on the defense he has taken. Furthermore, science is always in a state of change. So the science we rely on today is different than the science we relied on from just a few years ago. It will probably change again going forward. Jones is also creating a precedent that will go beyond his personal interests in the sense that now other fighters will also seek use exemptions on a strict liability violation based on an issue that the science community is still divided on. It’s an absolute mess.”
No matter what, USADA will not be punishing Jones and thus the win will stand. Jones will remain the light heavyweight champion and Gustfasson will have to go back to the drawing board.
