The fact that UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones tested positive for cocaine a month before his latest title defense at UFC 182 this past weekend has grabbed all the headlines in the past couple of days, but it’s now emerging that his testosterone readings were unusual too.
His official drug test findings were obtained by Yahoo! Sports and show that the champions testosterone levels were abnormally low both on December 4th when he was tested twice (reading .29 and .35 compared with a ‘normal’ reading of 1), and then even lower (.19) two weeks later when he was tested again.
Since Jones’ levels were not above the legal limit no further action was taken by the Nevada State Athletic Commission who administered the test, but according to anti-doping experts his results are still suspicious.
At this stage all that can be said for certain is that it is unusual that an athlete in the prime of his career at 27 years-old would have a much lower than average level of testosterone.
However, the results available at this time are by themselves not enough to say for certain whether there was any wrongdoing involved and so experts are now calling for a more in-depth carbon isotope (CIR) test to be administered.
“IMO. CIR testing of all 3 @ufc Jon Jones urine samples needed. Reduced T & E levels + T/E ratios could indicate exogenous testosterone use,” BALCO founder Victor Conte wrote on Twitter, a sentiment that echoed that of two anti-doping experts who MMAJunkie.com consulted with.
So, it would appear that Jones drug scandal is far from over despite the fact that both the UFC and his new sponsor Reebok have publicly offered their support to the star, praising him for seeking treatment for his cocaine use.
