UFC's Jon Jones 'very happy I have been cleared in any wrongdoing'

Interim UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones declared a victory of sorts despite a one-year suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) stemming from his UFC 200 drug-test failure.

In a prepared statement released to MMAjunkie, Jones pointed to the UFC anti-doping partner’s conclusion that he didn’t intentionally take banned substances as proof he isn’t a cheater.

“Although I was hopeful for a better outcome in the USADA ruling today, I am very respectful of the process in which they allowed me to defend myself,” Jones wrote Monday after the decision, which will keep him out of action until July 7, 2017. “I have always maintained my innocence and I am very happy I have been cleared in any wrongdoing pursuant to the allegations made that I had intentionally taken a banned substance.

“I am pleased that in USADA’s investigation they determined I was ‘not a cheater of the sport.’ Being cleared of these allegations was very important to me. I have worked hard in and outside of the octagon to regain my image and my fighting career and will take these next eight months to continue my training and personal growth both as a man and a athlete. Thank you to all of my fans, teammates, coaches, sponsors and to the UFC for their continued support.”

Jones (22-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC), the No. 1 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light-heavyweight rankings, immediately denied using banned substances after failing a June 16 out-of-competition test for banned estrogen blockers clomiphene and letrozole, which are known to work in tandem with steroids.

The failures nonetheless prompted the UFC to remove him from a title-unifier against champ Daniel Cormier (17-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC).

Jones got the chance to prove himself innocent during an arbitration hearing on Oct. 31 opposite USADA. For violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy on a “specified substance,” he faced a punishment that ranged from a verbal warning and no suspension to a one-year suspension.

During a 10-hour meeting, Jones’ reps pointed to a possibly tainted supplement and zeroed in on a Cialis-like pill he allegedly took during training camp for the bout, which turned out to be positive for multiple banned substances.

Jones and his noted anti-doping attorney, Howard Jacobs, were successful in convincing the three-member arbitration panel that he didn’t intentionally cheat, though the panel concluded the fighter’s “degree of fault in fact verged on the reckless” for taking the supplement, which he took at the recommendation of a training partner.

Jones’ one-year suspension is retroactive to July 6, the day on which he was provisionally suspended by USADA. The UFC issued a statement in the wake of the decision, stating that “while the decision indicates no evidence of Jones’ intentional use of banned substances, it does highlight the care and diligence that is required by athletes competing in the UFC to ensure that no prohibited substances enter their system.”

For complete coverage of UFC 200, check out the UFC Events section of the site.