Dominick Cruz doesn't believe Jon Jones intentionally took banned substance
By now, you know that UFC interim light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones was flagged by USADA for a potential anti-doping policy violation, forcing the UFC to remove him from his main-event fight against Daniel Cormier at UFC 200.
Jones proclaimed his innocence during a tearful news conference Thursday while his manager, Malki Kawa, was adamant about the fighter filing an appeal in the matter. But fellow champion and FS1 UFC analyst Dominick Cruz thinks the damage has been done to Jones' reputation, regardless of the outcome of his potential violation.
"Sorry, Daniel Cormier, to an extent. But at the same time, Jon Jones did not want this to happen," Cruz said Thursday. "He put in a full training camp. I know he didn't mean to take that -- I believe he didn't mean to take some prohibited substance. But the fact is, he did. And he's already found guilty because they already announced it on the Internet. And that's part of the issue with this is it's already been announced. So it's already what it is, regardless of what case they go through with. So ... best wishes to him, and I hope they get a replacement for Daniel Cormier."
In many cases pertaining to performance-enhancing drugs, intent doesn't matter -- either you took it or you didn't. But in reference to USADA and Jones, Cruz would like to see due process play out a bit more.
There are currently six fighters serving suspensions for violations under the UFC Anti-Doping policy. Two of them, however, Tim Means and Yoel Romero, reached settlements with USADA after the agency concluded that both fighters took tainted supplements.
As a result, both had their suspensions reduced from two years to six months after it was confirmed that items on the banned-substances list were found in supplements taken by Romero and Means but not listed on the label.
That isn't to say Jones' situation is the same as Romero or Means, but he will have a chance to defend himself in a full review by USADA. At the moment, however, Jones is and will be labeled as a doper until he proves otherwise.
