Alexander Gustafsson’s Team Says Jon Jones Can’t “Cherry-Pick”, Following News of VADA Test

Jon Jones may not be facing any type of disciplinary action in California, following the news of his VADA test results, but that doesn’t mean the UFC’s light-heavyweight champ isn’t coming under fire.

As you’ve surely heard by now, recently it was reported that a drug test Jones submitted to VADA tested positive for a trace amount of the same steroid metabolite that moved UFC 232 from Vegas to Inglewood. Jones faced Alexander Gustafsson at the December 29th card, and reclaimed the 205 title by stopping the longtime contender.

Not long ago, it was reported that tests Jones took for USADA and the California Commission, in connection with UFC 232, came back clean. When that was revealed, Jones took the opportunity to take a social media swipe at Gustafssson.

Well, more recently, Gustafsson’s manager, Nima Safapour, released the following statement to MMA Fighting:

“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.”

Chances are we’re going to hear a lot more about all this in the coming days and weeks. Jones, by the way, is expected to meet with the Nevada Commission next Tuesday. The champ is booked to fight Anthony Smith in Vegas on March 2nd at UFC 235, but currently does not have a license for the bout.