Gustafsson: Jones can’t wash away the cheater stamp
The Mauler says Jones cannot wash away the mark of cheater
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Hester Prynne is among the greatest female protagonists in American literature. For breaking the moral code of the times, she was forced to wear a scarlet letter. But she managed to wear the red A for adultery well, in her way.
In a recent interview with Jim Edwards for FloCombat, UFC light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson charges that interim division champion Jon Jones now indelibly bears a scarlet C for cheater. When Jones failed a PED test just days before his title unification fight with division champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 200, Gustafsson volunteered to step up.
“When I heard Jones was out I talked to my team and we let people know I was willing to take the fight with Cormier,” said Gustafsson. “There wasn’t much time to get there because of the flight, but I wasn’t worried about that. I am a fighter and I will fight anyone, anytime, anyplace for the right conditions.
“I never did get a call.”
“I think [Jones] is one of the best fighters in the world, but ‘Greatest Of All Time?’, no not for me. There have been, and still are, so many good fighters and I think Jones still has more to prove, especially now after what has happened.
“Whether he was juicing or not when we fought it doesn’t matter. I believe I won that fight and if we meet again, I know I will beat him again.”
“Obviously, I think that if it’s proven that he has been cheating, he should definitely be suspended. The sad thing for me is that if he does have to sit out two years, then I’m not sure if he will ever be able to come back?
“Even if he does come back, he will never be able to erase the ‘cheater stamp’. Once you are caught, you can never wash that away.”
Jon Jones has been temporary suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) pending a full hearing in September or October. If it is determined he knowingly took PEDs, he will face a two year suspension. Alexander Gustafsson fights Poland’s Jan Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night: Arlovski vs. Barnett, AKA UFC Fight Night 93, AKA UFC Hamburg on September 3, 2016 at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany.