Jon Jones' move to heavyweight is to rewrite legacy after PED blemishes, claims Laura Sanko

UFC and ESPN analyst Lauro Sanko thinks that former dominant light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is moving up to heavyweight to escape the specter of his PED past.

In a recent interview on Submission Radio, the mixed martial arts analyst claimed that Jones might be seeing his move to heavyweight as an opportunity to rewrite his legacy, which some believe was ruined by numerous failed drug tests:

"Because of the move to heavyweight, there is a little bit of a feeling of a fresh start. I think that, you know, what happened during his title reign at 205 [pounds] was always going to an asterisk for him, you know, in terms of his GOAT status... It's there [as a] sort of this specter that color his entire incredible career. There is something about moving to heavyweight that would at least make that asterisk a little bit smaller... If he could go on and have an incredible run at heavyweight...it feels... clean."

Sanko added that Jones' superior fight IQ will set him apart from regular heavyweights and enable him to enjoy immense success in the less technical division:

"It's just fight IQ. He is one of the smartest fighters we've seen inside of the octagon... To have that kind of fight IQ in a division that is sort of known for slanging and banging, he could have a ton of success."

Watch the full interview below:

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When Daniel Cormier explained how Jon Jones' steroid use affected him

Jon Jones' head-kick KO against Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 was overturned to a no contest after 'Bones' tested positive for a turinabol metabolite. In a recent appearance on The Pivot Podcast, the former UFC double champion spoke about his uneasy loss.

'DC' opined that the 35-year-old was so talented that he could have beaten him without using steroids. However, Cormier revealed that he still wonders if their fight would have been any different if 'Bones' was clean:

"Bro, the dude is so talented he could have won the fight anyway... For me, it's like, 'Man, you did some stuff to my career that never let me settle because now I don't know.' It's like, I can know through the fights that this dude is better than me, but I also know that if you are not doing the things that aren't boosting you, can you really work to the level that I'm working?"

Watch Daniel Cormier talk about Jon Jones' steroid use below:

Jon Jones has tested positive for steroids several times in the past. Many fans and pundits believe that the New Yorker would have been the undisputed GOAT in MMA if not for his PED blemishes.