Cormier has a theory about Jones UFC 200 anti doping test failure

UFC light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson recently speculated that then champion Jon Jones was taking performance enhancing drugs prior to their fight at UFC 165 on September 21, 2013. Speaking on FOX Sports 1, division champion Daniel Cormier would not outright say that he thought Jones was juicing when they fought at UFC 182, but he did offer a theory.

You heard Alexander Gustafsson now is saying he believes that Jon was enhanced throughout his career, said Cormier, as transcribed by Dave Doyle for MMA Fighting. But before, we had no sanctioning body like USADA. USADA now is on top of all that, so I do believe that we will see a different fighter in Anaheim, because I do believe he’ll have to be clean this time, otherwise he’ll be caught.

I think he fought Ovince Saint Preux clean, and he didn’t like the way he felt, and tried to do something again dirty and he got caught at UFC 200.”

Jones argued that his test failure was due to a tainted bootleg erectile dysfunction drug, and was suspended for a year after going through an arbitration process. His first fight back will be vs. Cormier at UFC 214 on July 29 in Anaheim, California. Cormier believes Jones will be clean, and will fight differently that the fighter on the top of many pound for pound lists.

I think he will still be very tough, because he has a ton of skill, he’s very quick, he’s very long, he’s got a lot of physical advantages that a lot of us don’t have, said Cormier. I think what you will see is he will be a little more tentative, he may not be as aggressive as in some places. … I think you’ll see is a guy in the beginning of his career where he actually started to tire. He got tired just beating on Stephen Bonnar.