Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
After starting 2019 with more controversy, Jones feels like the latest USADA changes fully vindicate him.
USADA recently announced a number of important changes to the drug testing program employed by the UFC to keep its fighters clean. The key takeaway: drug testing has gotten so good and minor contamination of food and supplements so rampant that the agency has raised the allowed levels on several banned substances to keep innocent fighters from getting suspended.
“Even now in the U.S., we’re seeing prescription medications bought from reputable pharmacies that are made over in India and China,” USADA CEO Travis Tygart told MMA Fighting. “And they have levels of contamination that are totally fine from a health and safety standpoint and the FDA isn’t concerned with the low level of contamination but it’s such given the technology in the laboratory that it will cause a positive test.”
Included in the list of substances is LGD-4033, which is what Nate Diaz tested positive for leading up to his UFC 244 bout with Jorge Masvidal. DHCMT was also there, which is that pesky metabolite that’s still pulsing around in Jon Jones’ system.
The change obviously has Jon Jones feeling pretty vindicated after he spent the first half of 2019 eating s**t after one such pulse forced the UFC to move UFC 232 from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. He posted an Instagram photo with another quote from Tygart:
“Jon Jones was a moment where we all sat down and said, ‘We need to take a look at what the science is, as it pertains to the prohibited list.’ And I want to give Jon some credit because he took criticism like no one else has during that case, but everything that occurred in that case turned out to be true and helped result in where the policy is today.”
Jones added his own thoughts in the caption: “With not one but two biological brothers being Super Bowl champions, could it be possible that maybe I’m just a God gifted artist with a solid work ethic!?”
Sure, the picograms of DHCMT (a longterm metabolite of the steroid Turinabol) remain a mystery, but let’s not forget the time Jones got caught red handed the first USADA suspension around with clomiphene and letrozole metabolites in his system. Jones claimed the failed drug test was the result of taking off-brand erectile dysfunction pills.
Everyone had a good laugh at that, but the more interesting news slid mostly under the radar. When USADA looked into Eric Blasich, the teammate Jones admitted to getting the pills from, they discovered something pretty damning: Blasich had also ordered straight up clomiphene along with his order of ‘dick pills.’ He also tried to hide this from USADA by providing a different invoice. So you have fighters buying steroids along with a ‘tainted supplement’ to blame should one get caught.
There’s plenty of evidence that Jones is a God gifted artist with a solid work ethic. But let’s not ignore the evidence that he’s used steroids in the past. And every time he tries to gaslight the world into thinking it was all just misunderstandings, it’s worth reminding people of said evidence.