MMA News Round-Up: Power Slap Witnesses First Suspension, Jon Jones’ Message to His Rival, UFC VP Clarifies IV Rules After Islam Makhachev Controversy

The rapidly changing world of MMA has been through quite a few noted advancements. There was everything from shocking suspensions to startling revelations which kept the fans hooked to MMA world in the last few hours. Hence, we are back with our MMA news roundup to describe some of the most noted events that occurred in the past 24 hours. Dana White’s ‘Power Slap League’ saw its first major debacle recently. The slap contestant, Jon Kennedy, became the first person in the history of the promotion to receive a suspension. The UFC star, Jon Jones, had probably moved on from his once bitter rivalry with Daniel Cormier. ‘Bones’ made a friendly offer to his past rival ‘DC’. Lastly, the UFC’s executive in charge of Athlete Health and Performance clarified Islam Makhachev‘s IV usage issue that had been creating headlines recently.

Power Slap League witnessed its first athlete suspension

Dana White‘s new promotion, the ‘Power Slap League’, had to go through a rather shocking incident recently. The PSL athlete, Jon Kennedy, infamously became the first person in the history of the promotion to get suspended by the USADA.

The Nevada Athletic Commission recently sentenced Kennedy to a 9-month suspension. They also charged him with a $150 fine, along with $326 to be paid as prosecution fees. Kennedy was found to be positive for cocaine, which is a strictly prohibited drug in the books of USADA.

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Kennedy tested positive following a slap-fight he had on 30 November 2022. This suspension will sideline him from the competition up till 30 August 2023.

Jon Jones had a friendly invitation for Daniel Cormier

Numerous UFC fans would be awaiting the UFC 285 to witness Jon Jones making his way back into the octagon. ‘Bones’ would be making his Octagon return after a long span of 3 years. But, prior to his octagon revert, the former lightweight champ probably intended to erase the past bitterness between him and the former UFC champ-champ, Daniel Cormier, with an invitation.

In a recent tweet, Jones offered ‘DC’ to commentate his return bout at UFC 285. ‘Bones’ also stated that he saw Cormier as a “really good” commentator.

‘Bones’ had also placed his trust in Cormier about being “non-biased”. Notably, ‘DC’ had been bashed several times by many for his biases while commentating.

Jeff Novitzky clarified the issue of Islam Makhachev’s IV usage

A lot of people, including the noted fighter Dan Hooker, had accused Islam Makhachev of using IVs to regain his body weight prior to his UFC 284 bout. Makhachev’s UFC 285 opponent, Alexander Volkanovski, had also indulged in similar accusations against him.

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But, recently the UFC’s executive in charge of Athlete Health and Performance, Jeff Novitzky, provided clarity about this issue with a series of tweets. Novitzky presented USADA-approved details of the conditions under which an athlete might be prescribed an IV through his tweets.

A lot of fans might find these tweets from Novitzky enough to conclude whether Makhachev could be held guilty for the usage of IV or not.

Some more MMA news

• The UFC Flyweight, Jessica Andrade, will lock horns with Erin Blanchfield at UFC Vegas 69. Does she have enough to fetch a victory against her coveted opponent?
• The noted MMA trainer, Eugene Bareman, was unsure about Islam Makhachev’s IV usage prior to UFC 284. But he also suspected something unusual in Makhachev’s camp.