Could the picogram saga be over?
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones passed all of his UFC 232 post-fight drugs test — conducted by both USADA and the California State Athletic Commission — with no trace of the M3 metabolite from oral Turinabol found. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
Breaking: Jon Jones was drug tested by USADA and the California State Athletic Commission on the night of UFC 232 on Dec. 29 and all tests have come back clean. No picograms of the M3 metabolite, which was the source of all the controversy and drama last month, were found.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) January 10, 2019
UFC 232 was moved from Las Vegas to Los Angeles last minute after Nevada’s athletic commission wanted to meet and discuss tiny traces of the steroid that was found in Jones’ system leading up to the December 29 card. While Jones, the UFC and CSAC director Andy Foster all stated the infraction was remnants of Jones’ initial failed test from 2017, many fans and fighters were left skeptical of Jones’ status as a clean athlete.
Some, including Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier, had queried if drug tests would consistently find traces of Turinabol in Jones’ system going forward in his fighting career. Perhaps today’s news will go someway to allaying those fears.
Jones is now scheduled to meet Anthony Smith in the main event of UFC 235, which takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 2.
