Jon Jones’ Arbitration Hearing Scheduled For October 31

Former longtime UFC light heavyweight champion and former pound-for-pound king Jon “Bones” Jones will become the first UFC fighter to appeal a USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) sanction via arbitration, as his his hearing is set for October 31, 2016 in Los Angeles, per MMAFighting.com.

After dealing with a plethora of legal issues that forced him to be stripped of his title during 2015, Jones finally returned to action at April 2016’s UFC 197, scoring a decision victory over Ovince Saint Preux to become the interim 205-pound champion. He was then scheduled to rematch bitter rival Daniel Cormier in a unification bout at July 9’s UFC 200, but he was forced to withdraw just days prior after it was reported that he been flagged for a positive drug test.

Unsurprisingly, Jones denied taking any illegal substances in the aftermath of the news, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) made it clear that he had tested positive for two anti-estrogen agents. These substances are known as “specified substances”, which means Jones is facing a maximum one-year suspension from the third party testing organization, although his team has made it clear that they will be fighting the issue in hopes of coming to a settlement agreement.

In addition to his hearing with USADA, “Bones” must also appear before the commission. He was scheduled to meet with the commission earlier this month, but his hearing was rescheduled to November 10, 2016.

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