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UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones has tested positive for a banned steroid, which could lead to him being stripped of his belt and banned from fighting for as many as four years.
"It's brutal. It's unbelievable," UFC President Dana White told reporters in a news conference after his organization announced Tuesday that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency collected a positive sample following Jones' July 28 weigh-in, the day before his third-round stoppage of Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 at Honda Center.
"If this holds up, and he ends up getting two, three [years], it's probably the end of his career."
The 30-year-old Jones (23-1) regained the light-heavyweight belt by landing a massive head kick that set up a pounding of 20 unanswered blows to the concussed Cormier on the canvas.
Cormier was informed of the news by White while vacationing in Hawaii, telling White, "This is crazy." Jones tested positive for a cocaine metabolite before their first fight, in January 2015, and was fined $25,000 by the UFC. A second positive drug test by Jones, before UFC 200 in July 2016, delayed their much-anticipated rematch that was headlining that card and forced Jones to serve a one-year suspension.
White said he needs to await a complete adjudication of the Jones case before deciding what happens to the belt. The California State Athletic Commission is empowered to declare the fight a no-contest and give the belt back to Cormier.
Jones previously was stripped of his belt and suspended indefinitely by the UFC in 2015 after being charged with a felony in connection with a hit-and-run.
