(Updated at 6:48 p.m. ET with statement from CSAC executive director Andy Foster provided to MMAjunkie.)

LOS ANGELES – Scott Coker’s relationship with the California State Athletic Commission stretches back 13 years in MMA and longer than that as a kickboxing promoter.

As the president of Bellator, Coker supports the CSAC’s mission. But he believes the commission, led by executive director Andy Foster, made a serious misstep with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

“From a company standpoint, I think it’s very disappointing,” Coker told reporters at a media scrum in support of Bellator 214, which takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood. “You go out there, and you put your reputation on the line for health and safety and all the weight-cutting things.

“We’ve always supported the commission and will continue to support the commission. But listen, if a fighter has (performance-enhancing drugs) in him, he’s got PEDs in him. That’s how I feel.”

Coker, of course, is referring to trace amounts of the long-term M3 metabolite of oral turinabol that were found in Jones’ system on three occasions – and absent on five – prior to his rematch with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 and re-appeared in one subsequent test.

After an “abormal” test on Dec. 9 revealed the M3 metabolite, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency determined the positive was residual from a July 2017 positive that netted Jones a 15-month suspension. USADA also said it offered him no competitive advantage.

The UFC then consulted experts who said the positive and negative tests were characteristic of a “pulsing effect” seen with the M3 metabolite that could potentially be seen indefinitely in future drug tests.

Still, Jones was forced to withdraw his license application to fight Gustafsson in Nevada, and UFC 232 was moved to California where he’d already received a license. As a condition of being allowed to fight in the Golden State, Foster ordered him to undergo additional drug testing and participate in the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency after he initially declined.

After Jones again came up positive for M3 metabolites in a VADA test conducted Dec. 28, Foster declined to punish the UFC light heavyweight champ. He cited an opinion from Daniel Eichner, chief of one of two World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited drug testing laboratories that tested Jones’ sample, that there was no evidence the fighter had re-administered oral turinabol and received no performance-enhancing benefits from the amount of metabolites in his system.

Still, news of Jones’ latest positive drew another firestorm of criticism online from fans who believe the current champ is a cheater. Coker focused his attention on the commission’s response to the latest developments.

“To be the judge, jury and executioner now – it’s a little bit challenging for me to accept, but it is what it is,” Coker said. “We’re going to go by the commission rules, and we will continue. But I don’t think that was the right call and that was (Foster’s) call to make. And, really, the commission for 32 years, I’ve been with the California state commission, I think this is one of the few times I’ve said, ‘Hey, this is not right.’ We’ll see what happens with that.”

UPDATE: Foster has issued a statement to MMAjunkie in response to Coker’s criticism.

“I like Bellator, and I like Scott Coker. The Bellator staff are a pleasure to work with. Having said that and very respectfully, Mr. Coker has not reviewed the science documents that I have and, to my knowledge, has not spoken to the scientists who are the world’s foremost anti-doping experts on this subject. My decision was based on the conclusions of scientists. The scientists say there’s no re-administration. I’m relying on the expertise and experience of scientists. If or when the scientists tell me something different, I will alter executive discretion accordingly.”

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