Anthony Smith Believes Jon Jones Is ‘Clean For UFC 235,’ But Has Done PEDs
Anthony Smith believes that despite his past, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will be a clean fighter come fight night. This comes during fight week as Smith will challenge Jones for the strap in the headliner of the UFC 235 pay-per-view event.
Smith was put in this spot once he beat former title contender Volkan Oezdemir by third-round rear-naked choke. This fight went down in the headliner of UFC Moncton at Moncton Coliseum in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
On Thursday, the NSAC released the latest batch of Jones’ drug test results. This is where it was shown that picograms of the long-term M3 metabolite were again present on multiple tests.
“It’s expected,” Smith told reporters, including MMAjunkie. “I didn’t have any doubt in my mind. For whatever reason he tends to pulse when he gets close to a fight. I expected it. I would’ve been more shocked if it wasn’t there. It is what it is. I’ve talked to (NSAC executive director) Bob Bennett. We’re good.
“Bob Bennett’s been doing this a long time and I just don’t think he would put me in a position where someone else starts with a head start. That’s not me giving Jon a pass, though. Obviously there’s been some sort of indiscretion there. At some point in time he’s used PEDs and I don’t think we can argue that. But as far as now: I think Jon is a clean athlete.”
