Thursday's news that Jon Jones was notified of a potential anti-doping failure sent social media into a spiral. 

USADA spokesperson Ryan Madden issued the following statement Thursday afternoon: 

"Given that Mr. Jones has spoken publicly about the issue, I can confirm that he has been notified of a potential anti-doping policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition test on June 16. Mr. Jones’ B-sample is currently being analyzed by the independent WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah, and we have requested that the laboratory report those results to us as soon as possible. While at this time we are not going to provide any further specifics of the case, I can tell you that Mr. Jones will be provided full due process under the rules.”
 
“I can also confirm that USADA has been in communication with the Nevada State Athletic Commission regarding Mr. Jones’ potential violation and that we are working to ensure that the Commission has the necessary information to fully adjudicate this matter in accordance with its rules.”

As with any time a potential failure of this magnitude is announced, questions began circulating. To the best of my ability, I'll try to explain some of the more common ones. 

Why did a test from June 16 take so long to come back? It feels like something of this magnitude should result in the return of quicker test results. The truth is that a three week turnaround is actually considered a quick turnaround time. Standard non-expedited tests take several weeks longer to complete. 

USADA was notified by the Salt Lake City lab that analyzed the sample yesterday. That notification started a process where Jones and the UFC were told about the potential failure, so any notion that either USADA or the UFC knew about the results earlier in the week and held them are false. 

The Salt Lake City lab works with sample identification numbers only, which means they had no knowledge of which sample came back with the positive. The lab informs USADA of the identification number with the positive result, and that ID number is matched up to the name. 

In other sports where USADA is utilized (such as track and field), test results are not announced until the conclusion of the appeals process. But the UFC's contract with USADA stipulates that potential violations are to be announced immediately upon reception. 

Jones has requested his B-sample be tested, and USADA is hopeful results will be back tonight. If the b-sample comes back clean, Jones could fight Cormier on Saturday. The likelihood of the B-sample showing anything different than the A-sample is highly unlikely, however. 

The "tainted supplement" defense, hinted at during Jones morning press conference, holds little water even if a tainted supplement is actually involved. USADA's education site for UFC athletes has a wealth of information regarding supplements, and Jones has been in the testing pool for a long time. Ultimately, USADA's stance is that it is up to the athlete to be responsible for what they put in their bodies.