UFC bantamweight Miles Johns will remain on temporary suspension pending an adjudication agreement with the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) following a failed drug test in relation to his fight on Sept. 23.
On Tuesday during a monthly commission meeting, Mike Detmer, deputy attorney general for the state of Nevada, revealed that Johns tested positive for the M3 metabolite, which is found in DHCMT — better known as oral turinabol, an anabolic steroid.
Johns had his temporary suspension extended and a disciplinary hearing is expected to take place at a later meeting.
The M3 metabolite should sound familiar after Jon Jones endured a long-running saga surrounding his own drug testing history while dealing with the same substance. Jones continuously tested positive for trace amounts of the M3 metabolite, which at least played some part in the UFC and USADA amending rules where fighters who test positive for that substance need to break a certain threshold before facing potential punishment.
During the commission meeting, Hunter Campbell, the UFC’s chief business officer, appeared to discuss potential changes to the testing thresholds in the state, with the M3 metabolite mentioned specifically as one of the drugs that has been flagged in the past.
NAC executive director Jeff Mullen recommended that any test returned that was below the thresholds for these specific substances — GW1516, Dehydrocloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT) long term metabolite (M3), Clomiphene, Epitrenbolone (Trenbolone metabolite), and Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMS) — would be flagged as atypical but would not immediately trigger a suspension.
Only after an investigation with mitigating circumstances would a fighter then face potential discipline as a result of the positive drug test.
The UFC adapted identical rules back in 2019 to combat against situations like what happened with Jones or a similar circumstance with ex-UFC fighter Nate Diaz after Diaz was flagged for a failed drug test prior to his bout against Jorge Masvidal.
The new thresholds were not specifically revealed during the meeting on Tuesday, but Detmer said that the levels for the various drugs would get passed along for the record with the motion approved.
What that means for Johns remains to be seen based upon the amount of the M3 metabolite found in his drug test sample. His next hearing will likely take place at a future commission meeting in December.
Meanwhile, Contender Series fighter Chad Hanekom was suspended for nine months after testing positive for cocaine surrounding his fight at the UFC APEX on Sept. 5. He lost the bout, so the result will stay the same.
Hanekom will be suspended until June 5, 2024, and he faces a $750 fine as well as $157.04 for prosecution fees. He will also have to undergo standard testing procedures in Nevada if he seeks to get licensed again in the future.