By CASSANDRA COUSINEAU
LVSportsBiz.com
The MMA Enigma also known as UFC headliner Jon Jones listened intently and respectfully to the question.
I asked Jones, one of MMA’s most gifted light heavyweights ever and the biggest name on Saturday’s UFC 235 card at T-Mobile Arena, how he processes not just being a fighter but also a major economic spending generator for any UFC fight show. It’s a relevant question because less than three months ago UFC president and ringmaster Dana White made an unprecedented venue shift by moving UFC 232 from Las Vegas to Los Angeles after the state of Nevada had an issue with a Jones drug test and did not issue a license for Jones to fight in the Dec. 29 MMA show.
Shifting pay-per-view UFC 232 across the state line from T-Mobile Arena in Southern Nevada to The Forum in Southern California meant local Las Vegas workers from parking attendants to concessions workers took a major financial hit on the last Saturday night of 2018.
After I posed the question to Jones, the UFC light middleweight champion, he took a moment to mull it over and thoughtfully responded, “I can’t express how deeply sorry I am for not being here for the fans in December. I wish it didn’t happen.”
Jones sounded sincere when he added, “I also recognize that it’s not just those of us in the cage who benefit or not from any event I’m on. The valet parkers, food trucks, and the city itself all have implications when I’m on the card. I continue to submit to the testing and will always do my best in the ring to be the champion my fans deserve.”
On a jam-packed Las Vegas sports weekend (NASCAR, UNLV basketball, Golden Knights hockey and international rugby tournament), Jones returns Saturday to the city that absorbed the loss of fan and visitor spending income.
UFC events can generate big spending in Las Vegas. For example, the much-publicized UFC 229 Oct. 6 event when Khabib Nurmagomedov fought Conor McGregor generated $86.4 million in “economic impact” for metro Las Vegas thanks to attendance of 20,034 and ticket revenue of $17,188,894. UFC paid local economics consulting firm Applied Analysis for a study that concluded UFC 229 contributed $17.2 million in salaries and wages and “supported” an estimated 414 jobs.
But apparently Jones continues to test positive for the same long-term M3 metabolite that prompted Nevada Athletic Commission officials from granting a license to the superstar MMA fighter in December. In the most recent case with Jones, the atypical findings stemmed from samples collected Feb. 14 and Feb. 15. The tests were administered by the state athletic commission.
The experts believe the M3 metabolite, registering 40 and 20 picograms per milliliter, respectively, have been in Jones’ system for a year. And nobody knows when the substances will no longer have a presence in Jones’ body. As a result, Jones will be allowed to fight in Saturday’s pay-per-view event against challenger Anthony Smith (31-13) thanks to a ruling by the Nevada athletic commission
Further muddying the waters is the fact that nobody in the fight promotion — including the fighters and physicians — seem to understand the United States Anti-Doping Agency results. Here they are.
Jones’ opponent, Smith, is equally as perplexed.
“I trust in Nevada State Athletic Commission,” Smith said. “I don’t understand the science behind it, it doesn’t make any sense to any of us, right? But, we’re just regular people. So it doesn’t make sense to me. Bob Bennett has been doing this a long time and I just don’t think that he would put me in a position where someone starts with a head start.
“But that’s not me giving Jon a pass, you know? Obviously, there has been some sort of indiscretion there,” he added. “At some point in time, he has used PEDs and I don’t think we can argue that. But as far as now, I think Jon is a clean athlete.”
Unsurprisingly, UFC stands firm in allowing Jones to headline not only Saturday’s UFC 235, but for any future fight shows. Why? Well, perhaps the talented light heavyweight doesn’t just occupy the top line of the UFC 235 card, he’s also at the top of the UFC food chain.
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