Jon Jones flagged for potential drug violation following UFC 214

The news has obviously rocked the MMA community with both media members and pro fighters alike commenting on the situation, with many finding themselves stunned that Jones has committed such an act yet again.

Of course the old adage of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ will continue to be true in this instance, but it’s hard to see any kind of positives here considering Jon’s many past indiscretions.

Daniel Cormier, the man Jon beat for a second time at UFC 214, has released a statement in which he says “I don’t know what to think anymore”. The general belief is that the title will be returned to DC should this prove to be an accurate result, with Jones facing a suspension of up to four years.

Dana White refused to confirm whether or not the company would cut Jones or if he’d ever return, although he did say that there’s a chance this would signal the end of Jon’s career.

Obviously there’s no right time for this kind of news to break out, but given that we are in the middle of the Mayweather-McGregor fight week this is still horrendous timing for the UFC. Everyone, and we mean everyone, is talking about this incident and it’s starting to take some of the attention off of what is being billed as the biggest combat sports fight in history.

The likes of Brock Lesnar and Alexander Gustafsson will now be left to wonder what could’ve been, with their potential superfights against Jones likely being canned for good after these latest developments. At the very least we could see Gustafsson-Jones if this sample proves to be false, but that seems unlikely at this stage.

With UFC 215 and beyond already struggling to generate much excitement, it’s fair to say that the 217 event in New York City will need to be pretty special in order to save what has been a disastrous year for the company. Following on from the success of 2016 was always going to be difficult, but the potential re-suspension of Jones is really going to be a big kick in the teeth for Dana heading into the second half of 2017.

Perhaps things will take yet another dramatic turn, but we advise that you don’t hold your breath.