Jon Jones was supposed to fight Alexander Gustafsson for the light-heavyweight championship at UFC 232 in Las Vegas next weekend. Thanks to a positive drug test though, it looks like Jones is no longer licensed to fight in the state of Nevada, which means the fight has to be moved to Los Angeles. The news was announced on SportsCenter by UFC president Dana White, according to ESPN.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) reported unusual findings in Jones' latest drug test, which is what caused the issue. The test showed trace amounts of the long-term M3 metabolite which Jones tested positive for back in July of 2017. It was that positive test result that stripped Jones of his light-heavyweight championship and gave him a 15-month suspension.
However, there is some good news here. The USADA had a follow-up investigation on the drug test and found that the substance found in his system was most likely leftover from his initial drug test in 2017.
Jones took to Twitter to explain how the USADA's findings prove he is innocent in all of this.
The USADA has explained to the Nevada State Athletic Commission that Jones should be cleared to fight but according to Dana White, there simply isn't enough time to get Jones reinstated in Nevada.
"Nevada does not have the time to see us and go through a hearing to find out what California already knows," White said. "There's not enough time for Nevada to do this, so we're moving the event to California where the commission has already dealt with Jon Jones. They were the ones dealing with this and they have all the history with him."
