Jon Jones was unsuccessful in convincing the California State Athletic Commission he didn’t knowingly take a banned steroid prior to UFC 214. In the end, the fact the substance was in his system was enough to take away his ability to fight.

In a 6-0 vote, the CSAC moved to revoke Jones’ fight license and levy $205,000 in fines against him, including 40 percent of his $500,000 disclosed pay – or $200,000 – for a title bout against Daniel Cormier at the pay-per-view event on July 29, 2017.

“I don’t believe we should end Mr. Jones’ career, but I do believe he should sit out for a while,” CSAC Executive Director Andy Foster told the commission while it deliberated the anti-doping case.

Jones, 30, knocked out Cormier at UFC 214, but then failed an out-of-competition urine test conducted July 28. He came up positive for metabolites of oral turinabol, a banned steroid. He passed two tests conducted prior to the fight on July 6 and July 7, and post-fight on July 29, though the latter sample was not tested for turinabol.

Jones may re-apply for a CSAC license at the conclusion of his case with USADA. In order to receive a new license, he must garner a majority vote from the commission in favor of him being reinstated. His revoked license was set to expire in Aug. 28, according to ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto.

During a hearing today in Anaheim, Calif., Jones gave a long and impassioned defense of his character, swearing on his “heavenly father” he didn’t knowingly dope.

“It’s been science that has been kicking me in the ass, if I can say that,” Jones said.

Jones’ attorney, Howard Jacobs, attempted to link the ex-champ’s positive drug test to unintentional use, calling as a witness the head of an independent laboratory, Dr. Paul Scott of Korva Labs, to opine that the levels of turinabol metabolites found in Jones’ system would have been higher if use had been intentional. Scott pointed to a negative USADA test from Jones on Oct. 11 to bolster the possibility that the amount of turinabol found in his system was the result of a contaminated supplement.

But Scott also was forced to admit he couldn’t draw any definitive conclusions on how the drug got into Jones’ system, and he admitted he’d had only four hours to generate a report based on a request from Jacobs. The expert witness called by the CSAC, Dr. Daniel Eichner of the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory, one of two WADA-approved labs in the U.S., testified he couldn’t agree with Dr. Scott’s report and said it was impossible to conclusively determine whether Jones took a contaminated supplement.

Jacobs said Jones sent him four or five supplements for testing at Korva. But after a discussion with USADA, Jones sent 15 supplements he used, including a massage cream, to Eichner at the SMRTL lab.

Jones said the testing process left him paranoid about his inner circle and left him entertaining conspiracy theories about how the banned steroid got in his system. He said he worked closely with his management team to make sure all the supplements he took were third-party tested and “USADA approved.”

“I don’t understand how any of this happened,” Jones told the commission. “None of this stuff makes sense to me. I have no clue how this happened. I’m trying to figure it out like everyone else.

“You can call me a little bit of a party-boy or a knucklehead, but a cheater is something I’ll never say that I am, because that’s not who I am.”

As strongly as Jones declared his innocence, however, commissioners hammered at his past encounters with law enforcement and banned substances. CSAC commissioner Martha Shen-Urquidez forced him to admit he didn’t disclose a sexual enhancement supplement he claimed led to a positive test prior to UFC 200, and also had his manager forge his signature on documents certifying he’d completed anti-doping training by USADA.

“I didn’t lie,” Jones responded. “What I have been doing throughout my whole career is have my management team going through things in my career.”

Shen-Urquidez went back as far as 2012 to bring up Jones’ infamous car crash in which he destroyed a Bentley gifted to him by UFC President Dana White, and a drag racing charge that led to his arrest for a parole violation stemming from a 2015 hit-and-run crash. She also raised questions about the validity of a polygraph test Jones submitted to prior to his hearing, noting only four questions were used in the defense’s materials.

With his voice noticeably trembling, Jones promised he had turned his life around after doing many stupid things and deserved a second chance.

“I have 1,000 percent paid for the dumb things that I’ve done,” he said. “Honestly, I put it on everything that is dear to me that I did not do steroids.”

As more of Jones’ past was combed over, however, the commission was less convinced that the fighter’s claims of rehabilitation bore weight in his case with the CSAC. Chair John Carvelli asked whether Jones ever considered changing his management team after so many issues with regulators and authorities.

“Actually, I have considered that several times,” Jones quipped. “No, I’m joking. I think I could have some slight judgement issues. But I think I’ve made a lot of the necessary steps to check myself.”

Carvelli said he was upset that in all the talk about Jones and his turnaround, the potential effect of doping on his opponent Cormier was left out.

“We’re not here to end your career,” Carvelli said. “You put us in this situation.”

Foster said he’d support Jones if he sought a new license with the CSAC after his case with USADA is resolved, but that in the meantime, a license revocation and fine was the proper sanction.

“I have a personal and professional view,” he said. “My personal view is, I believe him. I view it from common sense. This makes no sense for him to take this drug on the test that he knows that is coming. Having said that, here we are.”

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