Dana White isn't optimistic about UFC champ Jon Jones' B sample, laments what could've been

Earlier this week, on the day news broke of Jon Jones’ latest failed drug test, a somber Dana White wondered if the UFC light heavyweight champion would ever fight again.

On Thursday during an appearance on FS1’s “Undisputed,” White was still in disbelief and sounded even more pessimistic about Jones being able to rebound.

“I can’t believe it. I still can’t believe it,” the UFC president said. “… It’s bad. He’s got to go through the process now, and we’ll see how this thing plays out. But, yeah, it’s bad.”

Jones (23-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) could be facing a four-year suspension and the second stripping of his UFC title after an in-competition drug test revealed the presence of the anabolic steroid turinabol following UFC 214 weigh-ins ahead of his title win over Daniel Cormier. Jones is allowed due process, which he will get. But even White said he expects Jones’ B sample to also test positive by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

“I’m hearing that this drug is out of your system in two days. That’s what I’m hearing,” White said. “I don’t know enough about these things, but that’s what I’m hearing. So that would make sense (if Jones knowingly cheated). Plus, it’s all about who’s giving you advice. If he did do this, he didn’t go out and just get this himself. Somebody gave it to him.”

Jones has previously failed two drug tests, one for cocaine and the other for an estrogen blocker that Jones later explained was included in a sex pill he had taken. The latter resulted in a one-year suspension, which ended with his return at UFC 214.

Jones’ third-round knockout of Cormier seemingly completed the champ’s quest for redemption following a string of run-ins with the law in addition to his previous positive drug tests. To many, the win solidified Jones’ status as the greatest UFC fighter of all time.

That thought is what makes White so sad.

“It’s crazy. The thing that’s sad is, when you start wondering if we should question everything Jon has done, he’s the best to ever do it,” White said. “He didn’t need those drugs. But guess what? Guys don’t need cocaine, guys don’t need this, they don’t need that. But they do it anyway. They do it for whatever reasons they do it. Jon Jones is one of the most gifted fighters that I’ve ever met, maybe the most gifted fighter that I’ve ever met.”

So why – if proven guilty – would Jones take steroids in his first fight back from a one-year suspension?

“I don’t know. Only he can answer that question,” White said. “It’s horrible. … Some guys can’t help themselves. Some guys can’t get out of their own way. He’s definitely that guy.”

For more on UFC 214, check out the UFC Events section of the site.