Jones is not fighting Lesnar next
Jon Jones: “It would be a massive draw, really big for the sport. It would be a great challenge – a big old boy.”
There have been a number of credulous reports that Jon Jones’ fight following Cormier will be Brock Lesnar. It apparently began with a hypothetical question to Jones during a Facebook chat.
It would be a massive draw, really big for the sport, said Jones, as transcribed by Kevin Iole for Yahoo Sports. It would be a great challenge – a big old boy. I doubt Brock Lesnar would take that fight, though. I definitely wouldn’t try to wrestle with him the whole time. I’m not going to tell you what I would do.
Then the AP’s Greg Beacham asked Lesnar for a reaction.
Would I fight Jon Jones? Anytime. Anywhere,” replied the former heavyweight champion. “Right now he should be worried about [Cormier] on Saturday night.
That was all it took to get the MMA media talking about Lesnar being next for Jones. But he’s not. Brock is suspended for a year, and the suspension is tolling.
When Lesnar returned to the UFC to fight Mark Hunt, he skirted the requirement that returning fighters must spend six months in the USADA testing pool, as there was no USADA when he first retired. Hunt warned that Lesnar was using PEDs, and then as predicted Lesnar failed an anti-doping test, but the results didn’t come back until the fighter was over. Lesnar’s decision win was changed to a No Contest, and he was suspended for a year. Then he retired again.
Suspended fighters in the UFC are still subject to PED testing, and if they withdraw, the suspension is tolled – the remaining time freezes until they re-enter the USADA testing pool.
Lesnar’s suspension would have ended on July 15 of this year, but he officially retired on January 3, so he has to return to the testing pool for six months and twelve days before he is eligible to fight. Plus returning fighters are all subject to six months, although the two would run concurrently. And while in the pool, he would have to be clean, or he would be subject to a two-year suspension.
So Lesnar would have to do what he has to do to pass a test. Then he would enter the testing pool for six months and twelve days, and not fail. And then he could fight Jon Jones. That is not happening anytime soon. If he starts today he can fight on February 7. But he’s not starting today.