A little under three weeks ago I asked the question; Is the UFC becoming a dirty joke? In that article I suggested that the disgraced mixed martial artist Jon 'Bones' Jones was about to be given a reprieve. This was despite the fact that the ex-light heavyweight champion had been caught doing illegal drugs for a third time.
I argued that should the UFC, in collusion with USADA (United States Anti Doping Agency) do anything less than ban Jones for four years, it would be sending out the wrong message to fans, rival fighters and aspiring kids in the sport.
Tainted Love
Jones's defence, as it was the last time he was caught, is that he took a tainted supplement. Though unlike last time he did not name the mystery supplement he was meant to have taken. Nor did he name it, he merely suggested that that was what had happened.
His contempt for the process was clear, by not even making his attempt at clearing himself half-assed he sent a clear message to the commission. I don't need to come up with a credible defence, I'm Jon Jones for crying out loud! I'm a goddamn super star!
To be fair to Jones USADA had previously sent a clear message to him and other top level athletes in the sport. The message being, *just tell us you have taken a tainted supplement, and we'll give you a tiny slap on the wrists. After which you'll be free to carry on as usual.
A similar thing was done with the charismatic ex middleweight UFC champion, Anderson Silva. Who after several accusations from fellow fighter Michael 'The Count' Bisping, was finally caught taking steroids.
In the 12 months or so of the USADA investigation, Silva maintained that he had taken a tainted supplement. A year later USADA agreed with him and gave him a retroactive ban, which lo and behold was the 12 months that he had already spent awaiting the verdict.
Mixed Message Always
It doesn't take a genius, or indeed a fight fan to see that the Anderson Silva case is laughable. What possible new information can be given 12 months after a supposed tainted supplement has been ingested?
You either believe the person, or you do not. Or rather, the accused either has evidence or they do not. That evidence is presented immediately and then within 12 weeks or so it is assessed. Well, that's what should happen, but instead we get this 'cooling off' period. Whereby presumably USADA hope that everyone forgets about the high profile case, so that they can then let the super star off.
Fabricio Werdum is another ex-heavyweight champion who has recently been caught cheating. Even though he's considered one of the best to have fought in the UFC, he is not currently a big a star. So a snappy four months after getting caught he was handed a two year ban lasting till May 2020.
In fact if we look at the list of fighters who have been banned in the last couple of years. It is no surprise to see that the longest bans have been given to the smallest names.
As fellow UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov tweeted,
This is No1 Bullshit, too many politics.
Snitching His Way To Glory
To be fair to USADA they managed to get some kind of concession regardless of the no doubt monumental amount of pressure the UFC was putting them under.
According to USADA's official documentation regarding the subject. 30 months of Jones's 48 month automatic ban, was rescinded because he helped them to catch other cheats.
In what will forever be known as the snitching clause, USADA laid out exactly why they felt the four year ban was no longer necessary.
However, due I'm sure in no small part to Jones's legal team, they also said that they were taking three months off the ban because they didn't believe he took the steroids knowingly. Which let's face it, is laughable.
The Snitching Clause
So Long
I for one feel like I am done with the UFC, it's a shame, but it makes it feel as if the whole thing is fixed and that's not what I view as fun.
Many people watch sports for a purity that they may feel is missing in today's society. Despite the money I and many others(probably rather foolishly) still felt that purity could be found in the UFC's version of mixed martial arts.
As was pointed out to me in the comment section of my last article on the subject. The UFC have at least brought in USADA to try and clean up the sport.
However when things like the Jones incident happens, it just looks like they got them in because of the credibility that USADA bring. The UFC was sold for 4.1 billion dollars, without USADA's endorsement that probably wouldn't have happened.
It is almost like they have said to USADA, make sure you catch the drug cheats. But don't you dare ban anyone until you speak to us.
So well done Dana White President of the UFC, you have got what you want. Implied credibility whilst letting your stars get away with cheating. Will this be a step too far for most fans? Probably not, this fan however, is out of here.
Well, after the Conor Khabib fight that is . . .
Read also: Is the UFC becoming a dirty joke?
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT JONES'S RETROACTIVE PUNISHMENT? DOES THIS SULLY THE SPORT OR CAN YOU CARRY ON WATCHING WITHOUT IT SPOILING YOUR ENJOYMENT? AS EVER, LET ME KNOW BELOW!
Title image: Richard Felix on Unsplash