When I woke up this morning, I did not expect to look at my cell phone and see massive amounts of text messages and various notifications. All of those text messages and notifications were about former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones being removed from Saturday’s UFC 200 due to a potential anti-doping policy violation.
We have all become familiar with the term “potential anti-doping policy violation” over the last year since the United States Anti-Doping Agency [USADA] became the independent drug testing agency for the UFC. USADA has done hundreds of out-of-competition drug tests since last year and several fighters have tested positive for a banned substance.
Jones becomes the latest fighter to be flagged for a “potential anti-doping policy violation” and no question, Jones is the biggest name to be flagged by USADA. On Thursday morning in Las Vegas, Jones denied knowingly taking a banned substance and his manager, Malki Kawa stated that the “B” sample of Jones’ out-of-competition drug test submitted on June 16 is being tested today by a lab in Salt Lake City.
I am sure there will be many articles written about what Jones said during his press conference today, which there should be. As a reporter, I always try to offer up something different and that is what I am going to do here. I have one suggestion for the UFC and USADA on what needs to change with their drug testing program.
If a UFC main event fighter is being drug tested out-of-competition, those drug test results need to be expedited so this type of situation does not happen. If the drug test Jones submitted on June 16 was expedited, the “B” Sample could have already been tested. Of course, it’s unlikely that the “B” Sample will come back negative, but what if this result comes back negative? If so, all of this could have been avoided if USADA would have expedited the results.
This is a very simple change that USADA can make. In the past when state athletic commissions ordered out-of-competition drug testing, they would ask the lab doing the testing to expedite the results. My understanding on expediting results is that they could be back as shortly as three days, but could take up to a week. In the Jones situation, it took three weeks for the drug test result to come back. This can’t happen in the future.
The UFC should be pushing USADA for expedited out-of-competition drug test results for all main event fighters. This is what is best for the UFC business. It’s a move that just makes too much sense, so why not make the change immediately?