GDT: UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2

[Canes]

The steroid GOAT strikes again

 

[m9]

I can't believe there are still people who defend Jones or think he's innocent.



This is asinine. He tested positive for one of the most well-known anabolic steroids that Olympians have used for decades.

I just want to see the best guys fight and I don't care if there are tiny traces of things and I especially don't care about other past situations where guys are busted for things like weed & coke.

USADA doesn't even think it's an issue and that there was no performance enhancement. NSAC (who is already holding up fights for Conor & Khabib) apparently does.

I'll be interested what else comes up. Obviously more information could come out which could be better evidence against Jones.

 

[m9]

Aside from the Jones test, pretty shocking they would move this card just for Jon Jones. Lots of people have flights/hotels/etc already booked and I can't imagine this is a good financial decision.

 

[member 51464]

I am trying to think back to other cards with late-failing main fights. Even if Jones was out, I feel like they would still have had a serviceable card here.

 

[Peter Griffin]

Well I guess this explains why Jon didn’t agree to submit a sample for VADA as requested by the NSAC.

 

[Peter Griffin]

Aside from the Jones test, pretty shocking they would move this card just for Jon Jones. Lots of people have flights/hotels/etc already booked and I can't imagine this is a good financial decision.

Ya Dana said they expect to lose roughly $5M on the gate.

 

[MD thaivuN]

Jon Jones just sucks at cycle off the juices.

 

[Avs_19]

Ya Dana said they expect to lose roughly $5M on the gate.

They might lose $5M off the gate but they’re still going to make millions. They only looked at their own bottom line and moved the entire event for the Jones PPV money rather than rescheduling his fight and leaving the rest of the card as is. Fighters who spent money to bring people to Vegas get screwed and they’re going to lose more on top of that going from a state with no income tax to one with one of the highest tax rates. Then there’s the fans who spent money on flights, hotels, and tickets just for this event. Pretty big blow to everyone involved and the UFC and Jones will probably be effected the least.

 

[Ban Hammered]

Honestly.. .I feel the fighters should pull themselves. Ridiculous they should have to move and disrupt their plans because of a guy who cheats.

 

[m9]

They might lose $5M off the gate but they’re still going to make millions. They only looked at their own bottom line and moved the entire event for the Jones PPV money rather than rescheduling his fight and leaving the rest of the card as is. Fighters who spent money to bring people to Vegas get screwed and they’re going to lose more on top of that going from a state with no income tax to one with one of the highest tax rates. Then there’s the fans who spent money on flights, hotels, and tickets just for this event. Pretty big blow to everyone involved and the UFC and Jones will probably be effected the least.

Do you think the UFC moving the entire card is better for them financially than just pulling Jones and continuing in Vegas? I think this move is costing them money and is just an F-U to NSAC.

This is also why my usual warning to those reading is to never buy tickets/flights/etc to a UFC in advance.

 

[m9]

Honestly.. .I feel the fighters should pull themselves. Ridiculous they should have to move and disrupt their plans because of a guy who cheats.

At the end of the day the fighters need to get paid, so it's hard to to drop out.

Yes it's a huge inconvenience but I'm sure the UFC will spend whatever to make it easier on all of them. We're talking about an hour flight with people with lots of private jet access, they'll make it work.

 

[Peter Griffin]

I think this move is costing them money and is just an F-U to NSAC.

I can see that. That or they think his hearing with the NSAC isn’t going to go well and he’s going to be suspended again and they want to ensure they get one more PPV showing out of him.

 

[m9]

I can see that. That or they think his hearing with the NSAC isn’t going to go well and he’s going to be suspended again and they want to ensure they get one more PPV showing out of him.

The UFC is actually backing him this time, which is why I doubt he will be suspended. Also if he was being suspended they would be better off having Gus fight someone else and moving on with the division.

I think Dana White's target this week will be NSAC, claiming they cost the company millions.

 

[LSCII]

The UFC is actually backing him this time, which is why I doubt he will be suspended. Also if he was being suspended they would be better off having Gus fight someone else and moving on with the division.

I think Dana White's target this week will be NSAC, claiming they cost the company millions.

White should be blaming Jones' PED guy. The dude clearly doesn't know how the cycle on and off the juice without tripping the tests...

 

[LSCII]

It's the equivalent of a pinch of salt in a pool. Except all the other fighters don't have that pinch of roids and test clean, Jon.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

As damaging as it may be, I’d wish Gustafsson would have dropped out and told them he wasn’t going to fight a cheater.

Trace amounts that are pulsing and could stay in his system forever? Yeah, no. Not when this same organization tells Frank Mir that the steroid taken in both cases here could have only been taken within a few month window just two years ago (according to his Facebook post).

I can’t believe they moved an entire event in less than a weeks notice for this cheat.

As far as I know, turinabol can leave the system pretty quickly without a trace compared to others. There wouldn’t be any “pulsing” amounts left over and even if there were, they wouldn’t last his f***ing life. That is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Jugitsu]

Can't wait for Jones to knock Gus out. I'm glad Jones didn't pulled for this. Feel bad for all those people who already paid for tickets, hotels, flight etc.

 

[m9]

As damaging as it may be, I’d wish Gustafsson would have dropped out and told them he wasn’t going to fight a cheater.

Trace amounts that are pulsing and could stay in his system forever? Yeah, no. Not when this same organization tells Frank Mir that the steroid taken in both cases here could have only been taken within a few month window just two years ago (according to his Facebook post).

I can’t believe they moved an entire event in less than a weeks notice for this cheat.

As far as I know, turinabol can leave the system pretty quickly without a trace compared to others. There wouldn’t be any “pulsing” amounts left over and even if there were, they wouldn’t last his ****ing life. That is absolutely ridiculous.

Helwani's Twitter timeline has been a good resource for this.

The Mir stuff is interesting because it seems like USADA has changed their stance on the issue, which sucks for guys like Mir but is a good thing for fighters/fans going forward.

Helwani also linked to the story of a college football player who had a similar issue to Jones.

 

[member 51464]

Won't Jones still get tested on the days leading up to the fight? I don't get how they can feel confident he won't just piss hot again if this bit of steroid is just magically hanging in his body indefinitely.

 

[MD thaivuN]

wonder how many fighters are gonna be affected when it comes to weight-cutting

 

[BGDDYKWL]

Turinabol has a very short half life, around 16 hours. If this was lingering from a year and a half ago the "trace" amount would be about a billionth of what a drug test could detect. We all know the excuse is complete BS, but just to shed a little light on the plausibility.

That said, I'd still rather see these guys fight, cheaters or not. Especially the big names/top fighters.

I'm pretty much to the point now where I think Jones really is a piece of garbage. His contrition is never believable. I'd love nothing more than to see him fight DC one more time and somehow have DC knock his ass clean out.

 

[pistolpete11]

Won't Jones still get tested on the days leading up to the fight? I don't get how they can feel confident he won't just piss hot again if this bit of steroid is just magically hanging in his body indefinitely.

As far as USADA, the UFC, and CSAC go, he didn't fail the test because the amounts were too low. It is only NSAC that are being sticklers. So unless he takes something else where the amounts increase, USADA and CSAC would let him fight.

 

[pistolpete11]

The UFC is going to lose a lot of money at the gate apparently, but I wonder if it's bigger than the hit they would take on PPV's if they had to take Jones-Gus off the card. It might be Dana and the UFC trying to stick it to NSAC, but I think in the end, it's probably a bottom line decision.

 

[m9]

The UFC is going to lose a lot of money at the gate apparently, but I wonder if it's bigger than the hit they would take on PPV's if they had to take Jones-Gus off the card. It might be Dana and the UFC trying to stick it to NSAC, but I think in the end, it's probably a bottom line decision.

What do you think the difference in PPV revenue is if they instead went Cyborg/Nunes and Gus/Corey Anderson? I think it's probably 100-200k difference, maybe a bit more. Taking a 5 million gate hit, logistics costs, and then keeping in mind the amount of money Jones makes.. I bet the amount of money gained off this swap is minimal at best and a decent loss at worst.

The money to be gained really would be their long-term investment in Jones, maybe not in this one card.

With the NSAC stuff.. let's hear what comes out this week from Dana. I think there's more to come.

 

[member 51464]

Well what is the cut like that UFC gets for each PPV buy? If the difference of Jones versus not Jones is 200k buys, and they are down $5,000,000 on the gate revenue and would only need $25 per PPV to break even.