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At this moment, three things are certain in life – death, taxes and Jon Jones pissing hot!
It was revealed by MMAFighting earlier today that the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion had tested positive for Turinabol yet again in a test conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA). Jones' urine samples were collected on the day of the weigh-ins for UFC 232 on December 28th, 2018 and the results of the test came back this week.
In an unsurprising turn of events, Jones had 33 picograms of the same metabolite that was found in his system after UFC 214. In case you didn't know, the banned substance popped up again in a series of tests conducted by the USADA in the lead up to his fight against Alexander Gustafsson in December last year.
However, the anti-doping agency as well as the UFC dismissed the failed drug test as a 'pulsating' effect and were affirmative that the traces were residues from his original intake. The science behind it is that the long-term metabolite can be in one's system for seven years and that Jones can continue to get popped for picograms of the PED in most of the subsequent drug tests.
It is said that the substance shows up in Jones' system whenever he cuts weight or indulges in heavy workout sessions. This explains why Jones cleared a few tests only to fail days before his fight against The Mauler at UFC 232.
The polarizing fighter has, however, overcome the odds and successfully reclaimed the UFC Light Heavyweight title in the last PPV of 2018. Additionally, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) was well aware of Jones possibly testing positive for traces of Turniabol even after the UFC 232 fight. So is Jones really a cheat or is he a victim of a lack of knowledge regarding the substance in question?
Whatever may be the case, Jones will not be punished for his latest failure as revealed by CSAC's executive director Andy Foster. “I spoke with the scientists. 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 are no grounds to charge somebody twice for the same violation,” said Foster.
The UFC, CSAC and the anti-doping bodies may be on Jones' side on this one, but MMA fans aren't ready to give Bones a clean chit just yet. It was a field day for Twitterati, who didn't waste the opportunity of seeing the humour in Jones' current predicament.
As always, we've collected the best tweets...
Jones is most likely to defend his title against Anthony Smith at UFC 235 on March 3rd later this year but currently waiting on the Nevada State Athletic Commission's clearance. The hearing is scheduled for the upcoming Tuesday on January 29th, 2019.
