Jon Jones Travels to Las Vegas for UFC “Business” Meeting
Jon Jones’s last Octagon contest was what was, at the time, seen as an inspirational comeback victory over Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 214. Jon Jones appeared right back where he has been for the majority of his UFC career: the top of the light heavyweight division. It has often been said that the only man who can beat Jon Jones is Jon Jones, and the drug test failure that resulting in Jones once again being stripped of his light heavyweight championship was the most recent example of that. With Jones staring down the barrel of a potential four-year suspension, it seemed that Jones would be on the shelf for the distant future. However, a post on Instagram yesterday (September 15th) by Jones’s manger Malki Kawa gives the impression that Jones could be returning much sooner than expected.
With the UFC 230 main event still being shrouded in mystery, there have been rumors of a Jon Jones return at UFC 230 in Madison Square Garden to main event the card. The Instagram post from Malki Kawa does nothing to curb these rumors:
In the post, Kawa and Jones are both dressed in professional business attire at the UFC Performance Institute, where Kawa writes, “2 GOATS, 1 mission, all business.” What that “business” is exactly is anyone’s guess, but this may be the biggest sign yet that Jones and the UFC arein talks about a potential return, in spite of the fact that word is still yet to come down regarding USADA’s decision on how Jones will be disciplined for his second drug test failure. The California State Athletic Commission gave Jones a $205,000 fine and temporarily revoked his fighter’s license but left it to USADA to determine suspension length as well as any potential sanctions. Jones has maintained throughout this ordeal that he has never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs:
“I do belive it was found in my system, a very small amount, metabolite, but I never intentionally took any performance enhancers and I’ve been working my tail off for the last year to try and prove that,” Jones told RT Sports. “Right now, we are still waiting for what they are going to do,” he added.
In this same interview, Jones expressed both hope and uncertainty regarding his return to competition:
“I’m hoping for a reduced sentence from four years,” Jones said, “but I don’t know what’s going to happen, so I’m just staying faithful and trying to do the right things and just focusing on the things I can control while waiting.”
