Jon Jones reacts to CSAC license reinstatement

On Tuesday afternoon, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones had his license reinstated by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) after failing a drug test for his 2017 fight with Daniel Cormier in Anaheim.

For Jon Jones, this marked the final hurdle in the path to his UFC 232 rematch with Alexander Gustafsson. Needless to say, he’s quite happy about the way things shook out — even if he had to pay a $205,000 fine.

Jon Jones reacted to this development on social media. Here’s what he had to say.

“Sometimes you have to spend a little money to make a little money,” he said. “I must say, for the most part I’m happy with the way things went with the California State athletic commission yesterday. I’m a trained and licensed killer ready to rock ‘n’ roll again.”

Jon Jones will enter this fight having not fought since July of 2017, when he knocked out Cormier. Unfortunately, this bout was quickly ruled a no contest when it was announced Jones had failed a drug test. The title was promptly returned to Cormier, and after more than a year of deliberation, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), handed Jones a 15-month suspension. Because this suspension is retroactive to the date of his failed test, he was eligible to compete again at the end of October. He’s 22-1 (1) overall.

Alexander Gustafsson, meanwhile, has not fought since May of 2017, when knocked out Glover Teixeira. With this win, the Swedish contender moved onto a two-fight streak, having also recently bested Jan Blachowicz by decision. Gustafsson is 18-4 overall.

Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson first met in the main event of UFC 165, in 2013 in Toronto. On that night, Jones walked away with a unanimous decision win, though many fans felt Gustafsson should have been awarded the decision. Whatever the case, the bout is widely regarded as one of the best in UFC history.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 12/13/2018.