Alexander Gustafsson’s Team Isn’t Cool With Jon Jones Getting a Free Drug Pass

He may be a champ, but he’s a total screw up, so for Jon Jones‘ return to action at UFC 232, the UFC had to be cool with trace amounts of steroids in his system. They also had to find a commission that was cool with that, so the entire event was moved from Las Vegas to California the week of the show.

Jones’ opponent on that night, Alexander Gustafsson, was seemingly cool with it, too. But with the news that Jones STILL has those drugs in him, that whole thing is wearing thin on Gustafsson and his team.

Here’s a statement sent to MMAFighting:

“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.”

In case you didn’t go to law school, allow me to explain this “strict liability” thing. When it comes to determining negligence, you try to iron out how much fault a person should bear for whatever action they’re accused of. But when the term strict liability comes into play, then it’s just a question of “Did it happen? Well, then homeboy is liable.” In other words, if there’s any steroids in Jon Jones, he’s guilty of doing steroids. End of story.

My mind still sees this steroid thing as a strict liability issue. I guess I’m old school.