Jon Jones hearing set for February 27
Things should be clearer after Jones appears at a California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) for a hearing Feb. 27 in Anaheim.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones tested positive for metabolites from the steroid Turinabol in a test administered on July 28. The next day he defeated then-champion Daniel Cormier.
Turinabol has a half-life of 16 hours, meaning it disappears from the athlete’s system within a day, making it seemingly a PED suitable to escape detection. However, it’s no secret that the Turinabol metabolite M3 that Jones tested for can be detected for 45 to 60 days, or more, so it’s not, at all.
Jones passed tests for Turinabol and its metabolites on July 6 and July 7. So Turinabol entered Jones’ system between July 8 and July 28. However, given the window for Turinabol metabolites, you wouldn’t take the PED knowing you were going be tested at the end of the month. This is Jones second infraction, with a theoretical four-year suspension; at 30 it could be the end of his career. So the test failure doesn’t make sense.
Further, the much talked about potential four-year suspension may not even be on the table. USADA suspensions double each time, and with the last PED suspension being a year, it should be a two year maximum. Jones’ manager Malki Kawa says he thinks there is a 95% chance Bones returns to the Octagon this year.
Things should be clearer after Jones appears at a California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) for a hearing Feb. 27 in Anaheim. The UFC’s independent anti-doping agency, USADA, will have a parallel process, but it likely to defer to CSAC. Jones is arguably the greatest fighter in UFC history; wrapping this one up promptly would be good for the sport, and Jones.