UFC Bantamweight Trevin Jones speaks to Connor Northrup of MyMMANews.
UFC 259’s Trevin Jones on NSAC revoking UFC debut win: ‘When they see me fight this fight, they will know I won that fight too’
Trevin Jones is trying to send a message to the Nevada State Athletic Commission [NSAC] at UFC 259 on March 6.
Scheduled to meet fellow bantamweight Mario Bautista on the preliminary card, Jones is attempting to earn his first official octagon victory after the commission overturned his UFC debut win to a no contest due to a positive marijuana test.
Jones took the fight on 34-hours notice and earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus after finishing Timur Valiev by second-round TKO. The 30-year-old notified the commission he smoked cannabis before he was signed by the UFC, but the positive result was enough of a reason for the NSAC to remove the win from his record.
“When they see me fight this fight, they will know I won that fight too,” Jones said.
“I don’t care what the commission did, said, I won that fight and I’m confident about it.”
Trevin Jones says UFC, USADA and state commissions need to follow the same rules
Jones is urging the commission to be on the same page as the UFC and USADA regarding the use of cannabis in the sport.
The UFC issued a new anti-doping policy this past January, stating the promotion is no longer punishing fighters to test for Tetrahydrocannabinol [THC]. THC is one of the main cannabinoids identified in cannabis.
Although the promotion is electing not to penalize fighters who test positive for marijuana, different state commissions can still revoke wins for fighters who fail a pre-fight or post-fight drug test.
Jones is confused as to why he can be paid for his victory, but still have his win revoked at the same time.
Living in Guam where marijuana a is legal, Jones is frustrated by the NSAC’s ruling on cannabis considering the fact cannabis is legal in Nevada.
“When you allow something to be legal, it needs to 100 percent be legal,” Jones said. “The commission needs to come to and be a part of this because marijuana is legal in Las Vegas, it is legal in many places.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TREVIN JONES WITH A STUNNING UPSET!
📺 Tune in on #ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/nUbdfC9RhV
— UFC (@ufc) August 22, 2020
The past is the past
The Guamanian understands his win over Valiev is not coming back, making his fight with Bautista all the more important.
Jones was originally slated to fight Randy Costa, but his opponent withdrew due to an undisclosed injury. Bautista is taking the fight on less than two weeks notice.
Jones completed a full fight camp this time around and has already been in Las Vegas for a week. He knows what to expect when making his walk to the cage after experiencing it once before.
This time, Jones wants something to show for it.
“It’s done already, my family got paid, I got paid. When it comes to the UFC fight, you have to win every fight. You can be 15-0 and make it to the UFC, lose two fights in a row and you’re getting cut,” Jones said. “I’m going to put that past me now. I have a new opponent and I’m ready to go for this next win.”
