UFC exec Jeff Novistsky has revealed a notable statistic that UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones is the most drug-tested athlete of all-time in any one year period.
“In 2019, @JonnyBones was subject to 42 no-notice drug tests by 3 separate entities (USADA, CSAC and NSAC),” Novitsky stated on Twitter. “In my 20 years experience in the anti-doping world, this is the highest volume of yearly tests that I have ever seen on one athlete, in any sport.”
Jones does of course have a chequered past with USADA, having twice failed drugs test in 2016 and then 2017.
In the first instance he tested positive for clomiphene and letrozole prior to a title fight with Daniel Cormier at UFC 200 and was stripped of his interim title, though he only received a reduced suspension of one year after a panel adjudicated that he hadn’t taken the substances intentionally.
Then, the following year Jones returned and reclaimed the title against Cormier, only to again test positive for a banned substance, this time for turinabol and was once again stripped of the belt and his KO victory amended to a no-contest.
Jones was facing a potential four-year suspension, but that was reduced to just 15 months after he provided “substantial assistance” to USADA in helping them discover other offenders, while an independent arbitrator successfully argued Jones had likely hadn’t intentionally tried to cheat.
Needless to say those transgressions have put Jones firmly on the USADA radar, but since then he has stayed clean despite his many tests and gone on to win three fights in a row against Alexander Gustafsson, Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos.
