Chael Sonnen Thinks Jon Jones Has Been using PEDs Since 2013

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour (via MMAFighting.com), former UFC fighter and title contender Chael Sonnen discussed the Jon Jones situation. Sonnen expressed his belief that Jon Jones has been cheating for several years, since at least 2013 when the two fought for the UFC title. Below are some highlights from the interview.

As previously reported, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is dealing with a potential drug test failure pending from a pre-fight test for his UFC 214 title bout with former champion Daniel Cormier. Jones reportedly tested positive for Turinabol, an anabolic steroid.

Sonnen previously fought Jones at UFC 159 in 2013, losing by knockout in the first round. Sonnen himself has failed multiple drug tests in his career, which ultimately led to his temporary retirement from the sport for him in 2014.

Sonnen on why he thinks Jones was on PEDs when they fought: “All I can tell you is I had a higher juice concentrate than Tropicana and he pushed me around like Mack truck vs. a Volvo, so I think for the better part of his career, that seems to be how it works. I know for me, I know exactly the day I started taking banned substances, but I would never deny it. I’ve been competing since I was nine years old and if somebody wanted to go, ‘His whole career is in question,’ it’s like yeah… If you did a dishonest act, sometimes the most honest thing you can do is just say, ‘Yeah, you got me.’”

Sonnen on why Jones criticizing Dana White was a mistake: “In a time like this you could really use some friends. I don’t think the words that he used (criticizing) the president Dana White before his last fight are going to help him very much in this situation. If there’s anything that Jon likes to do besides banned substances, it’s burn bridges. I don’t understand why he does that, but it’s a time right now that he could use some friends and I don’t know that he’s got ‘em.”

Sonnen on how the testing missed the “good stuff”: “I can tell you – and I don’t know what Jon did, I’m speculating off of what I’ve done – if they catch something like that, they missed the good stuff. So yeah he’s got to deal with this, there’s no contaminated something or anything, (Turinabol) is pretty hard to get and it’s pretty expensive if you do get it. The problem with this one is it’s an illegal drug. People always get confused on a banned substance vs. an illegal (substance); an illegal means if you’re caught with it they will put you in handcuffs.”