Jon Jones walked into his California State Athletic Commission hearing to defend himself on doping accusations and wound up being asked to answer for everything from traffic violations to his choice of management.

He didn’t have a particularly good answer for any of it, which wasn’t exactly ideal, but at least it was consistent with his overall defense.

This latest failed drug test prior to UFC 214? The whole turinabol thing? All Jones seems to know about it is that he didn’t do it, that he would never do it, and that even if he wanted to he’d have to be out of his mind to do it this way. Beyond that, well, he’s as vexed as the rest of us.

Somehow, this non-explanation failed to convince the CSAC to let him off the hook. Instead he got hit with a $205,000 fine and a revocation of his license, with the details of a suspension largely left up to USADA.

Prior to this hearing, Jones’ longtime manager Malki Kawa seemed confident that he’d get off with a relatively light punishment. Declaring his client “innocent,” Kawa said earlier this month that it would be “an outrage” if Jones received any suspension beyond the time he’s already served being sidelined from the sport. In fact, Kawa said, he was 95 percent sure that Jones would fight again before 2018 is over.

Of course, that was before Jones told the CSAC that he’d never actually completed the anti-doping tutorials required by USADA, but instead had his management do it for him and then forge his signature.

This was, from start to finish, an almost shockingly inept defense, based on conjecture and hope. We’re not just talking castles made of sand here. This was a house of cards built on a fault line in a windstorm.

When your “expert” witness is pulling information from bodybuilding websites for a cost of $395 per hour, it might be time to reconsider your strategy. Instead, Jones plowed ahead with the strongest declarations of innocence he could muster, but without ever offering any real explanation.

This is the essential weakness of Jones’ defense. He doesn’t contest the results of the drug test. Those oral turinabol metabolites that a USADA test found in his urine on the day before his knockout victory over Daniel Cormier? Jones concedes that those were really in there. What he denies is that he knowingly put them there.

That, in itself, isn’t an unusual response to a failed drug test. We’ve seen plenty of fighters blame tainted supplements, and we’ve even seen that defense be relatively successful. Jones has already used it once himself, arguing that a failed drug test that knocked him off the UFC 200 fight card in 2016 was actually the result of a pill he took to boost sexual performance.

An arbitration panel called that “reckless,” but did not call it cheating. In that sense, his defense worked, even if Jones still got a one-year suspension in the end.

But this time around there’s no sex pill to point to. Jones’ team says it has tested all his supplements – even his massage oils – and found no turinabol. It is the phantom steroid, hailing from parts unknown, seeping into the bodies of pro athletes by the most mysterious of means.

You can see why this argument might fail to convince. Instead of evidence, Jones offered his word. He simply wouldn’t do something like this, he said. And he especially wouldn’t do this drug at this time. Why would he, when he knew he was subject to a battery of pre- and post-fight tests? It would be downright stupid, not to mention career suicide.

The problem is that you don’t have to dig too deep into Jones’ past to find examples of self-sabotaging behavior. Granted, much of it took place behind the wheel of a car, but he’s also the same guy who once bragged about beating his greatest rival after doing cocaine during training camp. Just because it would be outrageously dumb, that doesn’t necessarily mean Jones didn’t do it.

So where does that leave the former UFC light heavyweight champ? Well, about $200,000 poorer, for starters, but beyond that it’s tough to tell. CSAC executive director Andy Foster made a point of saying he believes Jones’ denial, for what that’s worth.

Jones could conceivably reapply for a license in August (though the CSAC all but demanded he reconsider his choice of representation before then), but that’s assuming USADA doesn’t slap him with a long suspension.

And, let’s face it, Jones’ performance in front of the CSAC probably did not make him many friends at USADA. This will be the second time in two years that Jones has to beg the anti-doping agency – not to mention fans and the public – for understanding and forgiveness.

It’s not helping him any that, as his violations pile up, his defenses and his reputation only seem to get worse.

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