Former UFC heavyweights Frank Mir and Mark Hunt have weighed in on Jon Jones’ “atypical” drug test result ahead of UFC 232.
Two fighters seemingly on opposite ends of the Performance Enhancing Drug (PED) issue in combat sports have given their take on Jon Jone’s most recent drug test scandal. As well as USADA’s decision to give Jones a pass for the “atypical” finding, which showed trace elements of anabolic agent Turinabol in his system earlier this month. Frank Mir, of course, was suspended for two years for the exact same substance, though potentially at different levels. Mark Hunt, meanwhile, has become one of the most outspoken fighters when it comes to PEDs in mixed martial arts, and is currently suing the UFC regarding Brock Lesnar’s return to action at UFC 200.
Hunt, who recently fought out his UFC contract and has no plans to return to the promotion, left a particularly pointed message on his official Facebook profile, accompanied by a photo of himself flipping the bird. Steroids in the sport have become a contentious issue for the popular slugger. Lesnar won a unanimous decision against Hunt at UFC 200, which was later overturned to a no contest when Lesnar failed a pre-fight drug test, results of which were not ready prior to the fight.
On Monday, Hunt wrote that the UFC stands for “ultimate f*cken [sic] cheaters,” and suggested the promotion cut Jon Jones. Hunt pointed out that many fans and families had already paid for UFC 232 in Las Vegas, and would be inconvenienced by the move to Los Angeles. He added that he hoped no one would buy the PPV event.
UFC ultimate fucken cheaters why don’t u jus cut jones pay gustuvsen and leave the show in Vegas all the fans and families who have already paid don’t miss out oh u only care about the PPV merry Christmas 🎄 to everyone who has already paid to go there I hope no one buys your ppv motherfuckers the least u could do is pay for everyone’s flights to California and accommodation 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂tickets food and everything else u have screwed those there from oh and u can stick my crooked finger in your bum hole for Christmas u poxy lil bitch @danawhite
Mir, meanwhile, took a more measured approach, but the circumstances of the case clearly disturb him. Also taking to Facebook to issue his response, Mir recalled in detail the exchange he had with a USADA official after learning he’d tested positive for a Tuinabol metabolite.
In the spring of 2016, when USADA representatives sat in my Las Vegas kitchen and told me that the turinabol metabolite that they said I tested positive for could only have been ingested within a window of the past several months, I vehemently proclaimed my innocence. Having never failed any drug test throughout my career, I asked if we could go back further in the past to test any supplements that I could’ve taken, but they claimed that was both impossible and unnecessary. They were firm on their assertion that there was only a recent period of several months that would warrant any consideration. Now, little more than two years later, Jon Jones has tested positive for the same trace of the same banned substance, and USADA is taking the position that this same low level is in fact not a new ingestion, but something that could be the result of a residual “pulsing” effect that could potentially stay in his system “forever”. Further, they are now claiming that this phenomenon is something that they are seeing in other cases as well.
This latest shift in USADA’s position would seem to suggest one of two possibilities…Either they are a) offering special dispensation to Jon Jones or b) they are second guessing and subsequently “revising” the presentation of their own science. Either scenario leaves myself and a number of other fighters whose careers have been similarly damaged by past testing claims to wonder what this says about USADA’s consistency and their tests’ reliability. Sadly, my accusation came at a time when the UFC’s partnership with USADA had not yet been subjected to the kind of doubt that now seems to further cloud it with each new instance of convoluted circumstances.
Mir’s “special dispensation” suggestion is interesting given that Tom Lawlor was suspended for levels of Ostarine even lower than Jones’ test for Turniabol metabolites. While USADA did state in a press release Sunday that they consulted with experts when determining not to sanction Jones, specifics were not provided. A USADA official speaking on condition of anonymity told Cageside Press Monday that the residual amount remaining in Jones’ system was essentially a “double jeopardy” situation. There was no violation as Jones had already been sanctioned for taking the banned substance, and there was no evidence of re-administration.
Mir currently competes for Bellator MMA, where he has gone 0-2 since debuting in the promotion earlier this year. Hunt, meanwhile, is set to test the free agent waters.
