UFC Light Heavyweight Jon Bones Jones Reportedly Tested Positive for "Estrogen Blockers"
UFC Light Heavyweight Jon Bones Jones Reportedly Tested Positive for "Estrogen Blockers"
The moment it was reported that UFC light heavyweight Jon “Bones” Jones failed his drug test in the weeks before he was set to face off against Daniel Cormier at UFC 200, everyone wanted to know what Jones was taking. Was it steroids? Was it peptides? Was it SARMs? If early reports turn out to be accurate, Jones got caught taking “estrogen blockers”.
Jones refused to identify which two prohibited substances were found in his urine. Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC) and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) also refused to identify the PEDs. As is usually the case, it was only a matter of time before the information leaked out in one way or another.
The first person to leak the news was former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans. As an on-scene reporter for CBS Sports, Evans said he was told by an insider in the Jones camp that the PEDs in question were “estrogen blockers”. Later in the day, Chael Sonnen repeated the same information on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.
The more formal name for “estrogen blockers” is selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs). Clomid and Nolvadex and other SERMs do not lower the level of estrogen in the body like aromatase inhibitors (AIs). AIs work by preventing the endogenous metabolism and conversion of testosterone (and other aromatizable steroids) into estrogen. By contrast, SERMs simply block the effects of estrogen by occupying estrogen receptors in certain tissues.
The actual performance-enhancing effects of SERMs are considered trivial by most people. SERMs like Clomid (clomiphene) are known to have only a modest stimulatory effect on the production of testosterone in the body. However, this is not the reason SERMs are typically used in bodybuilding and sports.
SERMs are generally used in combination with the more powerful androgen-based PEDs. Athletes and bodybuilders most frequently use Clomid (and Nolvadex) to (1) block the estrogen-related side effects, such as gynecomastia, of aromatizable anabolic steroids; and/or (2) as a form of post cycle therapy (PCT) to restore endogenous testosterone production following the end of a steroid cycle.
In other words, when an athlete is caught using SERMs, it usually means that anabolic steroids are also part of their protocol as well.
Nonetheless, it is still far too early to condemn Jones as a steroid user. Jones has strongly denied knowingly using anabolic steroids and PEDs. He insists that any PEDs found in his system must be the result of contaminated dietary steroids.
Supplement contamination has happened before. And Jones may be right. But he will have to prove it for any chance of a reduced suspension. He has already thrown his a sponsor under the bus by implying that GAT Nutrition supplements could be responsible for the failed drug test.
A GAT Nutrition executive went on the defensive to counter any suggestion that its company was responsible for Jones' predicament.
Source:
Marrocco, S. (July 11, 2016). Rashad Evans claims Jon Jones tested positive for estrogen blockers. Retrieved from http://mmajunkie.com/2016/07/rashad-evans-claims-jon-jones-tested-positive-for-estrogen-blockers