Tag: Jeff Novitzky

Jeff Novitzky Admits Jon Jones Tested Positive Last August On Joe Rogan’s Podcast

With the controversy going around regarding Jon Jones recent drug test ahead of UFC 232, UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky offered some insight today (Thurs. December 27, 2018). Novitzky joined longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan’s podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” to offer some in-depth explanation for the situation. Initially, Jon […]

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With the controversy going around regarding Jon Jones recent drug test ahead of UFC 232, UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky offered some insight today (Thurs. December 27, 2018).

Novitzky joined longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan’s podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” to offer some in-depth explanation for the situation. Initially, Jon Jones was scheduled to face Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of UFC 232 this weekend (Sat. December 29, 2018) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

However, after Jones tested positive for the same substance that forced him to be suspended last year, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) did not license Jones to fight. Because of this, the UFC was forced to relocate the fight to The Forum in Inglewood, California, where Jones was able to get licensed.

During Novitzky’s appearance on JRE, Rogan asked the UFC VP of Athlete Health and Performance several questions about the debacle. Maybe the most poignant revelation was that Jones supposedly tested positive for the ‘atypical finding’ back in August. MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi even brought that exact finding up during today’s UFC 232 press conference:

Check out Rogan and Novitzky’s conversation here:

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Brendan Schaub: Jeff Novitzky Is No Longer The Face Of USADA

Brendan Schaub believes Jeff Novitzky has lost trust as the UFC’s VP of Athlete Health and Performance. A trace amount of turinabol was found in Jon Jones’ system ahead of UFC 232. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) determined that this wa…

Brendan Schaub believes Jeff Novitzky has lost trust as the UFC’s VP of Athlete Health and Performance. A trace amount of turinabol was found in Jon Jones’ system ahead of UFC 232. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) determined that this was the result of a pulsing effect and not a recent dosage. Novitzky claimed that […]

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Fans Go Off On USADA For UFC 232 Relocation

Jeff Novitzky has defended moving UFC 232 for Jon Jones as ‘right thing to do. But fans are none too happy about the decision. The annual year-end PPV is still happening, albeit in a diffent state entirely. The event has been moved from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. A […]

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Jeff Novitzky has defended moving UFC 232 for Jon Jones as ‘right thing to do. But fans are none too happy about the decision.

The annual year-end PPV is still happening, albeit in a diffent state entirely. The event has been moved from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

A Jon Jones drug test came back with an “atypical finding” of trace amounts of the same turinabol metabolite that gave “Bones” his most recent 15-month suspension.

Jones’ test result is not a new violation of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. However, the Nevada State Athletic Commission doesn’t feel comfortable licensing him on such short notice. That is precisely why the UFC has decided to move the entire show to California where Jones will be granted a licence.

UFC President Dana White and the UFC VP of athlete health and performance, Novitzky, expained that Jones did nothing wrong in this instance. USADA, and other agencies believes the test result is a “pulsing” effect and not a new ingestion.

Here is what Novitzky had to say about the “picogram” levels of turinabol found in Jones’ system:

“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.”

Tweet Barrage

Novitzky echoed that that same sentiment early Monday morning on Twitter.

This case exemplifies how advanced and sensitive drug tests have become. With this comes a greater responsibility and the need to look at each situation objectively. The decision yesterday showed both of these things. Can’t make everyone happy, but it was the right thing to do.

“The right thing to do”? That seems a bit one-sided in my opinion. UFC fans agreed as they responded to Novitzky’s tweet in anger.

This entire situation is not a good look for the sport and a black eye for a promotion that will make its debut on ESPN programming in four short weeks.

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Jeff Novitzky On Decision To Move UFC 232: It Was The Right Thing To Do

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) VP of Athlete Health and Performance has taken some heat, but he’s sticking to his guns. Yesterday (Dec. 23), the UFC dropped a bombshell with the announcement that UFC 232 is being moved from Las Vegas to…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) VP of Athlete Health and Performance has taken some heat, but he’s sticking to his guns. Yesterday (Dec. 23), the UFC dropped a bombshell with the announcement that UFC 232 is being moved from Las Vegas to Los Angeles at the last second. While the location change itself proved to be […]

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UFC Keeping Early Morning Weigh-ins For Now

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will not switch back to afternoon weigh-ins for the time being. UFC president Dana White was met with a significant amount of resistance when he announced the UFC is working with Athletic Commissions to revert b…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will not switch back to afternoon weigh-ins for the time being. UFC president Dana White was met with a significant amount of resistance when he announced the UFC is working with Athletic Commissions to revert back to afternoon weigh-ins. Many fighters criticized the plan as early weigh-ins allowed more time […]

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UFC VP Gives Update On Nick Diaz’ Strange USADA Issues

Nick Diaz hasn’t stepped foot into the Octagon since his UFC 183 showdown with Anderson Silva back in 2015. Both men ended up failing drug tests, Silva for performance-enhancing drugs and Diaz for marijuana, a subsequent offense. Diaz and his brother Nate have always been a prickly pair but Nick has proven to be especially difficult […]

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Nick Diaz hasn’t stepped foot into the Octagon since his UFC 183 showdown with Anderson Silva back in 2015. Both men ended up failing drug tests, Silva for performance-enhancing drugs and Diaz for marijuana, a subsequent offense.

Diaz and his brother Nate have always been a prickly pair but Nick has proven to be especially difficult to get back to fighting.

UFC VP of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky remains optimistic about Nick Diaz’s return, recently discussing his thoughts on the matter on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast:

“Nick was our first fighter that ran into the whereabouts issues. So he got three whereabouts failures in a rolling 12 months, so he’s currently going through that process. It’s a tough one.

“I think he does (want to fight). I think he does. I’ve sat down with him over the past couple months trying to resolve this whereabouts issues. The unfortunate thing there is, look, the whereabouts failures are there to catch people that are cheating and trying to avoid testing. I just think Nick’s lifestyle led to those three whereabouts, not that he was trying to avoid testing. We’re trying to work through that.”

Diaz is provisionally suspended due to failure to notify USADA of his whereabouts, but Novitzky believes he will compete again once the suspension ends.

UFC athletes must provide USADA with there whereabouts three times a year, something Diaz failed to do. However, Novitzky believes that Diaz’s negligence was probably due to the circle of friends and managers he keeps, people who ensure their fighter is on the up-and-up at all times:

“(Diaz) trusted certain individuals to do his whereabouts for him. What I think happened was, over time, those individuals were in and out of his life, and it was unbeknownst to him that he was missing all these things. But again, there’s strict liability here. He’s currently under sanction, but we’re hoping to resolve that pretty quick.”

Do you expect to see Nick Diaz fight in the UFC again?

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