
A fan who purchased 4 tickets to UFC 200, with the express purpose of seeing Jon Jones, is suing the fighter and his management team over Jones’ removal from the event.
Sean Slattery filed the lawsuit recently in a San Diego Superior Court, and is claiming that Jones “robbed and defrauded” the value of his tickets after he failed a pre-fight drug tests and was ultimately removed from his main event fight against Daniel Cormier.
Was Jon Jones Negligent?
In order for the lawsuit to have any merit, Slattery would have to prove that Jones willfully, or through negligence, avoided participating in the event. Being able to prove that Jones or his management team were being negligent when Jones failed the drug test is a big of stretch.
While technically you could say that taking a banned substance when you know you are going to be drug tested could be considered negligence, but a judge will probably be hesitant to admit as much. Setting the precedent that an athlete suspended for a drug violation owes fans the price of their tickets is not something a judge is going to be quick to do.
Bad Times
If the lawsuit ever got to the later stages of the process however, it could end up putting Jon Jones in a position where he may have to answer questions about his steroid use under oath.