UPDATED: Jon Jones Issues Statement After Atypical Drug Test Reveal

UPDATE: Jon Jones took to Twitter to issue a statement on his atypical drug test that has caused the UFC to move UFC 232 from Las Vegas to Las Angeles at the last minute. Jones posted the following after it was revealed that his drug test revealed trace amounts of turinabol in his system:

I’m focused on achieving my ultimate goal of reclaiming my Light Heavyweight title.  I have willingly submitted to every USADA test in the lead up to this fight and USADA has confirmed what I've been saying all along, that I'm a clean athlete. I sincerely thank the California

— BONY (@JonnyBones) December 24, 2018

State Athletic Commission and Andy Foster for doing the right thing and supporting me through this process. I cannot wait to fight Alex Gustafsson this Saturday December 29th at the Los Angeles Forum in Inglewood.

— BONY (@JonnyBones) December 24, 2018

ORIGINAL: A Jon Jones drug test has caused the UFC to move UFC 232 to Los Angeles with just a week away from its scheduled date. According to MMAjunkie, Jones’ drug test from earlier this month found a trace amount of turinabol in Jones system. Turinabol is the substance that Jones tested positive for during a pre-fight test for UFC 214, which led to a fifteen-month suspension for the fighter and his light heavyweight championship being stripped away.

Dana White told the outlet that the CSAC will approve Jones’ license to fight at the event, where he is scheduled to face Alexander Gustafsson. The full show will now take place at The Forum in Los Angeles. The card is being moved because the NSAC does not have the proper amount of time to investigate in order to keep Jones cleared for the fight.

The test is not a violation of the UFC’s anti-doping policy according to UFC VP of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky, because the amount is such a small account and could be from old use of the substance. “A picogram is a one-trillionth of a gram,” he 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.”

Novitzky added, “There’s been no violation of the anti-doping program. He’s been cleared to fight in terms of the USADA program. … USADA fully analyzed it internally. They reached out to outside experts from around the world. They reached out to another sports league that has seen the same issue. And all of them, independent of us, determined that this was not a reingestion of the substance and this very, very small amount that was occurring and still showing up, according to these expects from around the world, did not provide any performance-enhancing benefit. Not much is known about this longterm metabolite. The parent compound is not approved for human use anywhere in the world … but what both USADA and other entities are seeing is that a recurrence, or potential ‘pulsing,’ where you have multiple negative tests and then a positive one for a very low amount – they’re seeing that quite commonly over time. And no one knows how long this could last – it could potentially last forever (in Jones’ system).”

The NSAC announced that it is allowing Jones to withdraw his application for a fight license in Nevada so that he can be licensed to fight in California. Jones will appear in front of the NSAC in January. The statement reads:

“Today, Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) Executive Director Bob Bennett announced that, in consultation with NSAC Commission Chair Anthony Marnell III, unarmed combatant Jon Jones will be allowed to withdraw his pending application for licensure, which was intended to clear him to fight in a major contest in Nevada later this month.

“After extensive analysis of Mr. Jones’ prior 18 months of USADA in- and out-of-competition anti-doping drug testing results, Director Bennett, Chair Marnell and Mr. Jones agree that he will appear at an evidentiary hearing in January. This will allow for a measured, thoughtful and comprehensive discussion of his anti-doping testing protocol and results and provide an opportunity for the NSAC to determind the appproriate path forward for him in Nevada. We look forward to this hearing.”

White told the site that he believes Jones has not used doping substances, saying, “I haven’t heard anything negative about Jon Jones leading up to this fight – nothing. He was willing to jump on a plane yesterday and go take a drug test – like, immediately. If I want to plan a PR for Jon Jones in two months, try pulling that together. It’s tough to get Jon Jones. He’s willing to do anything. So, I believe that Jon Jones is clean. He’s in fight shape, and I believe that he’s been doing the right thing.”