Victor Conte, the BALCO founder who has been linked to PED-using superstars like Alex Rodriguez, believes the UFC needs to pay closer attention when it comes to testing light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
During an interview with Sherdog Radio earlier this week, Conte explained that there was something “highly suspicious” about the measured testosterone levels in Jones’ blood before the champ defended his title against Daniel Cormier. According to Conte, Jones’ testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio was “extremely low” in the three samples that were collected prior to the fight.
“The question is what was suppressing his testosterone production for that period of time. Something caused it to go down, and I do not believe it was overtraining,” Conte explained. “Exogenous testosterone and other steroids in a period of time, depending on dosage and method of administration, can completely shut your testosterone and epitestosterone levels in urine to 0. … The levels being low there can be many explanations. [People say], ‘Well maybe it’s because he was taking cocaine.’ There’s no solid science out there that shows cocaine lowers testosterone.”
Bloody Elbow gave a more scientific breakdown of what Conte was claiming.
The normal T/E ratio for an average African-American male is 1.3:1, says Conte. Jones’ samples showed ratios of 0.29:1, 0.35:1 and 0.19:1. Same goes for his overall testosterone levels. The three samples contained 1.8 ng/mL, 0.59 ng/mL and 4.9 ng/mL, the average level is 61.3 ng/ML.
Conte calls a T/E ratio deviation greater than 30 percent a “red flag”, Jones’ ratio deviated around 80 percent.
I’m not a doctor, so almost all of that means nothing to me. The facts are that Jones tested positive for cocaine before his fight against Cormier, but cocaine is not a banned substance by the World Anti-Doping agency. Whether Conte is onto something is up for you to decide.
