Jon “Bones” Jones was going to make millions of dollars fighting against Daniel Cormier for the UFC light heavyweight championship as the main event for UFC 200 on July 9, 2016. Then he goes and gets busted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) with PCT drugs in his system.
As a result, Jones was dropped from UFC 200. Not only did he lose out on the million-dollar pay day, Jones said goodbye to the millions more that he could have earned as a UFC athlete over the next two years given that Jones will likely be suspended for most of that period.
It’s enough to make a grown man cry. Jones agreed as he turned on the waterworks during an emotional apology to his fans.
“They supposedly found something in one of my samples that I have no clue what it is,” Jones said. “I don’t even know how to pronounce it. I’ve been taking the same supplements for the majority of my career. I’ve been so outspoken about being against any type of performance enhancers. I’m still to this day extremely against performance enhancers. The whole thing sucks. Being labeled as someone who would cheat hurts me more than anything else I’ve ever been through in my career.”
Jones may not have known how to pronounce the names of the drugs. But Rashad Evan, the former UFC light heavyweight turned CBS Sports reporter, knew exactly what type of drugs Jones was using. Evans was quick to identify the drugs as post cycle therapy (PCT) medications.
If this turns out to be true, then the most likely reason for the use of PCT drugs is to treat the anabolic steroid induced hypogonadism (ASIH) that happens after a good old-fashioned steroid cycle. PCT drugs like Clomid (clomiphene citrate) and Nolvadex (tamoxifen citrate) don’t have the same stigma as anabolic steroids, growth hormone or EPO. But to admit using PCT drugs is almost the same as admitting to the use of steroids.
This predictably led Jones to strongly deny “knowingly” using any PEDs. In order to distance himself even further from any responsibility in the matter, Jones even threw his long-time sponsor – GAT Nutrition – under the bus. Jones didn’t mention any specific company by name but fans of Jones recognized GAT Nutrition as the supplement company used by Jones.
“I’ve been taking the same supplements for the majority of my career,” Jones said. “I’ve been so outspoken about being against any type of performance enhancers. I’m still to this day extremely against performance enhancers. The whole thing sucks.”
PMP Preworkout
Mark Post, the vice president for GAT Nutrition, quickly went on the defensive. Post identified the two GAT Nutrition products used by Jones – PMP Pre-Workout and an amino acid supplement – and guaranteed that they were free of any prohibited substances.
“Nothing Jon is using from GAT contains anything that is banned,” Post said. “We do extensive third-party testing and we know he has been tested several times. Everything has come up clear. We have no idea what has changed in what he has taken over the last month. We don’t live with Jon, and don’t even know what the banned substance is.”
If Jones expects to see his suspension reduced to less than two years, he will need to cooperate with USADA and prove that the supplements he used were contaminated.
Good luck with that, Jon.