And the story continues, as UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones most recent pre-fight drug test has found steroid metabolites in his system again.
Jones, was drug tested in competition by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) before his UFC 232 contest against Alexander Gustafsson last month, where Jones went on to defeat Gustafsson to recapture the UFC light heavyweight title. The same oral Turinabol metabolite that had been previously detected that cost Jones a 15-month suspension was found again, according to information obtained by MMAFighting.com from the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC).
According to the CSAC, Jones had 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 collected via urine sample on the day of the UFC 232 weigh-ins on Dec. 28.
Per Andy Foster, executive officer of the CSAC, no disciplinary action will be taken against Jones. Foster stated, “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’s no grounds to charge somebody twice for the same violation.”
Earlier in his career, a test performed by USADA found Jones tested positive for the anti-estrogen agents clomiphene and Letrozol. For that drug test failure, Jones was suspended one year after arbitration.
Next, Jones is scheduled to defend his title against Anthony Smith at UFC 235 on March 2 in Les Vegas. Before he gets to that fight, Jones must receive his license by the NSAC. Jones is scheduled to meet with the commission on Jan. 29.
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