NSAC Executive Director: Jon Jones’ Carbon Isotope Testing (CIT) Came Back Clean

A ton of details have not surprisingly arisen in the timeline of UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ now-infamous failed drug test for cocaine since news originally broke this Tuesday (Jan. 6, 2015).

The UFC has gone under extreme fire for supposedly not punishing Jones for the infraction, which they certainly could have done under their highly publicized Code of Conduct, but UFC President Dana White said that the NSAC’s lack of punishment for the polarizing champion using a drug with an “out of competition (OOC)” designation lead to them only following suit.

In fact, the whole testing of Jones for street drugs, which originally occurred on Dec. 4, was supposedly a mistake. White deemed that mistake “a great thing” because the young, talented, and perhaps brash titleholder was headed for the help he needed in a drug rehab center.

But as the story took more turns, it only got stranger and stranger. When Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports released a photo of Jones’ clean follow-up test results on Dec. 18; his testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T:E) ratio was remarkably low at .19/1.

There was a multitude of potential factor leading to Jones’ seemingly low testosterone, as his body may have simply been depleted while undergoing an intense training camp for his UFC 182 victory over Daniel Cormier. A more sinister area of inquiry, however, was the possibility that Jones had used a substance with epitestosterone to hide the testosterone-boosting effects of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

That prompted several members of the MMA media and also medical doctors with knowledge of the subject to call for Jones to undergo a carbon isotope test (CIT) to determine if any masking agents for PEDs were in play.

Apparently the commission was miles ahead of game, as NSAC executive director Bob Bennett spoke up in an interview with Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter to clarify that Jones did indeed undergo a CIT test, and the results came back without evidence of PED use:

“CIT testing was done, and according to our doctor, none of the results were a concern. The only negative was testing positive for cocaine metabolites. We’ve gotten a litany of emails about the testosterone. We have a doctor we work with whose work has been impeccable for the last seven months. He does not have a concern on the last two tests.”

Bennett was quite clear and concise in clearing up any doubts about Jones’ three tests, where only the first had any cause for concern. He also said that the commission would be discussing Jones’ situation at their meeting on Monday, and that there is still a possibility for punishment for the disgraced fighter.

Jones and Cormier’s drug test results from after UFC 182 are still being determined and will be released to the NSAC in the coming weeks.

There’s always going to be the negative perception of how the situation was handled, as many maintain that listing cocaine as a non-punishable OOC drug while fighters are routinely given harsh punishments for using marijuana shows a clear double standard and preferential treatment for a star fighter like Jones.

Yet for now, Jones has been cleared of any additional drug use based on his low testosterone levels.

Stay tuned to LowKick MMA for breaking news on Jon Jones’ drug test situation as it arises.

Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports