SteemSports Presenter:
SteemSports Editor:
'What we learn from history is that people don't learn from history.' -Warren Buffett
Let me address the athlete first; Jon Jones is the former UFC light heavyweight champion. He has been stripped of his title for the second time in two years, no other champion in history has ever had their belt consecutively removed.
Why Has Bones Been Stripped of His Title?
Bones was first banned from competition in USADA's (United States Anti-Doping Agency) sample discovery of estrogen blockers and cocaine metabolites in his blood. An estrogen blocker isn't actually banned from use within athletic commission guidelines, but it is a pre-cursor to steroid use. The cocaine aspect as a drug was acted upon as a fine, but he was allowed to compete soon thereafter.
Anabolism within steroid usage has one purpose, and that is to gain testosterone as quickly and seamlessly as possible with minuscule downsides. Estrogen blockers help to reduce any estrogen in the system (retained from dairy or anything really), and help produce more testosterone for strength and conditioning purposes. This was already a red flag from his 2016 drug tests, but the results of yesterday's publishing seal the fact that Jon has been abusing steroids for most all of his fights.
Turinabol was the positive sample taken from results published yesterday. It was revealed that Jon ingested the oral version of this drug, a version that had been untraceable until this year. USADA's advanced test have shown now that T-Bol can be tested for both in syringe and oral form, and that the drug most likely takes up to 3 weeks to fully leave the system. This drug allows for heavy mass to be gained all the while not gaining water weight. It is a perfect steroid for the mixed martial artist, whom must keep their strength all the while cutting weight to make their divisional standings. This positive test implies USADA consequence, and they punish through banning. The rules is an athlete is banned for double the time of previous concurrences, this may mean we don't see Jon Jones compete for 4 years... at least in the UFC.
So What Now For Bones?
I truly do not know. Jon had an immensely difficult time proving anything to the Nevada state athletic Commission, I highly doubt the California Commission will be any more lenient. I see a ruling of at least 2 years, maximum 4 for Jon. We surely won't see him in the UFC for a very long time, and I see him being too prideful to fight for lower tier organizations.
Jonny is still a very young man whom is still learning the ways of life. His combat iq is as high as it can get, he is a ferocious killer in the Octagon with a mindset to win. I see Jon conquering this in some way, but it may involve rehabilitation or some type of serious reform in his regular life.
His entire legacy is tarnished from these results, as have all the other legends whom've popped for doping and performance enhancers. I wish Jon the best, and hope that the unravel lings of this event only improve the sport for good.