Brock Lesnar and Jon Jones get potentially good news from USADA

USADA announced Wednesday that Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar could be facing a maximum suspension of just one year for their recent drug test failures, and not the traditional two-year ban.

Ariel Helwani first reported the news on MMAFighting.com.

Both Jones and Lesnar failed drug tests by testing positive.for hydroxy clomiphene in and around their scheduled fights at UFC 200. In Jones’ case, he also failed for the letrozole metabolite. Jones was pulled just days before his fight against Daniel Cormier, while Lesnar’s results didn’t come out until after he had beat Mark Hunt on the show. It was revealed Lesnar failed tests prior to UFC 200 as well as on fight night itself.

The reason for the shorter suspension is that hydroxy clomiphene is classified as a “specified substance” under the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) code. According to that code, that means it’s “susceptible to a credible non-doping explanation”. To WADA, specified substances can enter the body inadvertently, allowing governing bodies to limit suspensions.

Both Jones and Lesnar still face the possibility of fines and/or suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission. On Tuesday, Lesnar was placed under temporary suspension while he awaits a full hearing. This is the first PED suspension for either fighter and penalties are usually less severe for first-time offenders.