Abnormality in Jon Jones test moves UFC 232 to Los Angeles
It wouldn’t be your typical Jon Jones fight week without some kind of hiccup, am I right?
UFC 232 which is headlined by the former UFC light heavyweight champion and scheduled to take place at the T-Mobile ARena in Las Vegas, Nevada, has just move to Los Angeles, California on less than one week’s notice.
Why?
A drug test earlier this month found trace amounts of Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone (DHCMT), or turinabol, in Jones’ system.
Jones war previously suspended for 15-months after a positive finding in 2017.
Now, the Nevada Athletic Commission does not feel they have enough time to investigate so the entire fight card will be moved.
Jones will challenge Alexander Gustafsson for the vacant light heavyweight title, only because the California Athletic Commission will approve the fight.
According to a report from MMA Junkie, “UFC VP of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky said Jones’ positive test is not a violation. He said USADA, in consultation with other organizations, believes the test is a ‘pulsing’ effect and not a new ingestion of the substance that he tested positive for after a UFC 214 win over Daniel Cormier in July 2017.
“Novitzky described the amount of turinabol metabolites in Jones’ system in low ‘picogram’ levels.
“‘A picogram is a one-trillionth of a gram,’ Novitzky said. “If you put one grain of salt on the table and split it up into 50 million pieces, a picogram is one of those pieces of that gram of salt. These levels have shown up in the single and double digits of picograms – so such a small amount.'”
The statement to MMA Junkie reads:
“Today, Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) Executive Director Bob Bennett announced that, in consultation with NSAC Commission Chair Anthony Marnell III, unarmed combatant Jon Jones will be allowed to withdraw his pending application for licensure, which was intended to clear him to fight in a major contest in Nevada later this month,” the statement reads.
“After extensive analysis of Mr. Jones’ prior 18 months of USADA in- and out-of-competition anti-doping drug testing results, Director Bennett, Chair Marnell and Mr. Jones agree that he will appear at an evidentiary hearing in January. This will allow for a measured, thoughtful and comprehensive discussion of his anti-doping testing protocol and results and provide an opportunity for the NSAC to determind the appproriate path forward for him in Nevada. We look forward to this hearing.”
UFC 232 fight card:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson – for light heavyweight title
Champ Cris Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes – for women’s featherweight title
Michael Chiesa vs. Carlos Condit
Corey Anderson vs. Ilir Latifi
Chad Mendes vs. Alex Volkanovski
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 8 p.m. ET)
Andrei Arlovski vs. Walt Harris
Megan Anderson vs. Cat Zingano
Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Petr Yan
Ryan Hall vs. B.J. Penn
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6 p.m. ET)
Andre Ewell vs. Nathaniel Wood
Uriah Hall vs. Bevon Lewis
Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Curtis Millender
Montel Jackson vs. Brian Kelleher
