Metabolites Found In Jones System
Jon Jones’ in-competition drug test has found the same turinabol metabolites in his system that have been in his system for almost two-years.
In a report from MMA Fighting, the in-competition test performed by VADA for his fight against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 would find found 33 picograms of 4-chloro-18-nor-17β-hydroxymethyl,17α-methyl-5α-androst-13-en-3α-ol (M3) (or DHMCT) in his system.
The test was done on a urine sample collected from Jones on December 28th, one day before he defeated Gustafsson in the main event of UFC 232 to regain the UFC light heavyweight title for the third time.
CSAC executive officer Andy Foster told MMA Fighting that Jones will not be punished for this, as this is the same long-term M3 metabolite that Jones tested positive for in 2017 which initiated his 15 month backdated suspension. Foster said in follow up drug tests done by VADA, the commission and UFC partner USADA have all come back clean, including a test on fight-night.
“I spoke with the scientists,” Foster said. “They stand by their original statement. Nothing has changed. We’ve already punished Jon Jones for the M3 metabolite, which is a long-term metabolite. There’s no grounds to charge somebody twice for the same violation.”
“Science-wise, it does make some sense,” UFC vice president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky said to MMA Fighting. “Once again, there was no parent compound and none of the short- or medium-term metabolites, which tend to stick around for three or weeks. So this is even more indicative that for whatever reason this long-term metabolite is just hanging around in these tissues and they get expressed when you’re going through weight loss.”
“I don’t think it’s a blanket statement that every time that metabolite shows up that it’s automatically considered no re-administration,” he said “They’re looking at a lot of different factors each time it does show up. They’re looking at biological passport information to determine, are any of these other levels suspicious or raising or dropping. They’re looking to see if they can detect any of the shorter or medium term metabolites. It’s not accurate to say that every time this expresses itself in Jon it’s an automatic free pass. They look at it in detail every time it shows up to make sure that everything is consistent with no re-administration and no performance-enhancing benefit.”
Armed with this knowledge is the Nevada Athletic Commission who will have Jones in for a hearing later this month regarding a license for UFC 235 on March 2nd, where he is scheduled to fight Anthony Smith.
Initial Report: MMA Fighting