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Jon Jones, the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion, passed a post-fight blood screening administered by USADA on July 29 in the aftermath of his victory over Daniel Cormier at UFC 214, MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani has learned.
The negative test was administered just one day after Jones’ infamous July 28 urine screening, which popped positive for the anabolic steroid Turinabol. It is nonetheless important to note that USADA blood screenings do not test for Turinabol, thus the July 29 test would not have discovered any trace of Turinabol in Jones’ system.
In addition, Jones passed a pair of out-of-competition USADA drug screenings on July 6 and July 7, the former a blood and urine test, and the latter a urine test.
Jones, 30, defeated Cormier via third-round knockout at UFC 214 to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight title that was stripped from him in 2015 due to his role in a controversial hit-and-run accident. In 2016, Jones was also stripped of the UFC interim light heavyweight title after testing positive for two banned substances, clomiphene and letrozol, prior to a planned rematch against Cormier at UFC 200. Jones served a maximum one-year suspension for the failed test, which USADA found to be the result of a tainted sexual performance enhancement pill.
Jones’ potential failed test on July 28 ahead of UFC 214 could sound the death knell for Jones’ career if it is proven to be legitimate, as “Bones” would face upwards of a four-year suspension as a multiple-time offender. Jones’ agent, Malki Kawa, adamantly defended Jones’ innocence last week on The MMA Hour, citing the discrepancies between testing results throughout the month of July.
“I’m encouraging everyone to go out there and take a look at the tests he passed and the test he failed,” Kawa said. “It’s a three-week window the month of the fight. Jon has passed seven unannounced tests, and the one he’s going to fail is the one that’s announced? It’s weird to me, there’s a lot of things here that don’t add up, and to the UFC, it doesn’t add up.
“The UFC knows. They look at his tests on the 6th and the 7th, and he passed both of those, there’s nothing in his system. So for him to start doing steroids, especially the steroid they’re saying he took, he would’ve had to have been doing that steroid for awhile for it to actually do anything. He just took it to take it? I mean, to me, there’s a lot of issues with this.”
Jones is currently awaiting the results of his B sample, a process which is expected to take several weeks.
UPDATE: A USADA spokesperson on Friday released a statement to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani confirming publicly that Turinabol is the substance Jones popped for and explaining the tests Jones underwent in July. That statement can be read below.
“Given that Mr. Jones’ agent has publicly commented on this case, we can confirm Mr. Jones provided a urine and blood sample on July 6th and an additional urine sample on the 7th — all of which were reported negative. On July 28th, his urine sample tested positive for turinabol — as confirmed previously — then after the fight he provided a blood sample that was reported negative.”
“The prohibited anabolic steroid turinabol is only tested for in urine screens and not in blood tests. Urine and blood screens are complimentary to each other and don’t analyze for the same substances. Importantly, Mr. Jones is innocent unless and until the established process determines otherwise. It’s only fair to let due process occur before jumping to any conclusions.”
The negative test was administered just one day after Jones’ infamous July 28 urine screening, which popped positive for the anabolic steroid Turinabol. It is nonetheless important to note that USADA blood screenings do not test for Turinabol, thus the July 29 test would not have discovered any trace of Turinabol in Jones’ system.
In addition, Jones passed a pair of out-of-competition USADA drug screenings on July 6 and July 7, the former a blood and urine test, and the latter a urine test.
Jones, 30, defeated Cormier via third-round knockout at UFC 214 to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight title that was stripped from him in 2015 due to his role in a controversial hit-and-run accident. In 2016, Jones was also stripped of the UFC interim light heavyweight title after testing positive for two banned substances, clomiphene and letrozol, prior to a planned rematch against Cormier at UFC 200. Jones served a maximum one-year suspension for the failed test, which USADA found to be the result of a tainted sexual performance enhancement pill.
Jones’ potential failed test on July 28 ahead of UFC 214 could sound the death knell for Jones’ career if it is proven to be legitimate, as “Bones” would face upwards of a four-year suspension as a multiple-time offender. Jones’ agent, Malki Kawa, adamantly defended Jones’ innocence last week on The MMA Hour, citing the discrepancies between testing results throughout the month of July.
“I’m encouraging everyone to go out there and take a look at the tests he passed and the test he failed,” Kawa said. “It’s a three-week window the month of the fight. Jon has passed seven unannounced tests, and the one he’s going to fail is the one that’s announced? It’s weird to me, there’s a lot of things here that don’t add up, and to the UFC, it doesn’t add up.
“The UFC knows. They look at his tests on the 6th and the 7th, and he passed both of those, there’s nothing in his system. So for him to start doing steroids, especially the steroid they’re saying he took, he would’ve had to have been doing that steroid for awhile for it to actually do anything. He just took it to take it? I mean, to me, there’s a lot of issues with this.”
Jones is currently awaiting the results of his B sample, a process which is expected to take several weeks.
UPDATE: A USADA spokesperson on Friday released a statement to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani confirming publicly that Turinabol is the substance Jones popped for and explaining the tests Jones underwent in July. That statement can be read below.
“Given that Mr. Jones’ agent has publicly commented on this case, we can confirm Mr. Jones provided a urine and blood sample on July 6th and an additional urine sample on the 7th — all of which were reported negative. On July 28th, his urine sample tested positive for turinabol — as confirmed previously — then after the fight he provided a blood sample that was reported negative.”
“The prohibited anabolic steroid turinabol is only tested for in urine screens and not in blood tests. Urine and blood screens are complimentary to each other and don’t analyze for the same substances. Importantly, Mr. Jones is innocent unless and until the established process determines otherwise. It’s only fair to let due process occur before jumping to any conclusions.”
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