UFC 232 News: Joe Rogan brings recent Jon Jones steroid allegations to light

What's the story?

UFC commentator, podcaster and martial arts enthusiast Joe Rogan, was recently seen speaking with stand-up comedian, Joey Diaz, on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, about the speculation in regards to Jon Jones' alleged steroid use.

Ahead of UFC 232, which was initially scheduled to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (now moved to The Forum in Inglewood, Los Angeles, California), Rogan weighed-in on some scientifically undeniable facts concerning the recent matter.

In case you didn't know...

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon 'Bones' Jones, last competed in the Octagon on July 29th, 2017, in a highly-anticipated rematch against Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight championship belt.

Soon after the fight, Jones was found to have tested positive for an anabolic steroid, Turinabol, and was doubted by many experts to have taken the assistance of performance enhancements in his match against Cormier.

Following this incident, Jones was expected to receive a ban of four years from the sport, but new findings from the case seemed to be working in his favor. The term given to Jones was subsequently reduced to a period of 15-months, leaving him eligible to return to the Octagon from October 28th, 2018, and onwards.

Early this December, the USADA put Jones through another drug screening process and were able to find a picogram (1 trillionth of a gram) amount of Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone (DHCMT), or Turinabol, in Jones’ system. Soon after this news, the Nevada State Atheltic Commission denied Jones his fighting license ahead of the UFC 232 event, forcing the UFC to shift the venue from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to The Forum, in Inglewood, California.

The heart of the matter

UFC commentator and martial arts expert, Joe Rogan, in a recent episode on The Joe Rogan Experience, was vocal about his understanding of the Jon Jones matter, with special guest and standup comedian, Joey Diaz. He went on to say:

"The amount of it is so infinitesimal and its the exact same metabolite that he had been screened for, he tested positive for, a year ago. And this sh*t could stay in a system in those kinds of sizes the molecule

So, I would love to hear someone who doesn't think that that's the case. And thinks that there might be some way to game a system. The big thought that people always thought about when it comes to this stuff is micro-dosing. "

During the podcast, Rogan explained the opinions of experts such as Andy Foster, and Jeff Novitzsky that seemed to give Jon Jones the clean chit. In a recent interview with MMAJunkie, Athlete Health and Performance Vice President of the UFC, Jeff Novitzsky made the following claims based on the levels of Turinabol found in Jones' system:

"A picogram is a one-trillionth of a gram. If you put one grain of salt on the table and split it up into 50 million pieces, a picogram is one of those pieces of that gram of salt. These levels have shown up in the single and double digits of picograms – so such a small amount.

Not much is known about this longterm metabolite. The parent compound is not approved for human use anywhere in the world … but what both USADA and other entities are seeing is that a recurrence, or potential ‘pulsing,’ where you have multiple negative tests and then a positive one for a very low amount – they’re seeing that quite commonly over time. And no one knows how long this could last – it could potentially last forever (in Jones’ system).”

What's next?

With respect to the recent scientific studies performed over Jon Jones' steroid allegation reports, it seems as though Jon Jones has, in fact, thoroughly abstained from cheating. The former 205-pound champion is set to face Alexander Gustafsson in a much-awaited championship rematch on December 29th, 2018, at The Forum, in Inglewood, California.

Do you think Jon Jones will once again go on to prove to critics as to why he is still the best in the business? Leave us with your early predictions in the comments section below!