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LAS VEGAS – The Nevada State Athletic Commission hasn’t quite lost patience with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, but it’s getting close.

After a three-hour hearing in Las Vegas at which UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was granted a one-fight license, two NSAC executives vented about USADA’s actions in the case and warned the commission could stop working with the anti-doping agency.

“The issue they all have to recognize is, that testing program is approved by the state,” NSAC Chairman Anthony Marnell told reporters after the hearing. “That testing program can also be un-approved by the state. If it gets to the point where we’re unhappy, then we’ll have a hearing to determine if that should perpetuate in Nevada.”

“I’m not there yet,” Marnell added. “I don’t think we’re there yet – I think we need to work through some issues. But bumps are happening. This is a bump. This is a big bump. But it’s not like these bumps are happening every month.”

USADA, which administers the UFC’s anti-doping program, admitted to withholding the results of multiple test results for Jones between August and November of 2018 – including two that revealed trace amounts of the M3 metabolite of oral turinabol on Aug. 9 and Sept. 18.

Although UFC anti-doping rules state USADA is required to immediately notify the promotion, fighter and athletic commission of any adverse results “if applicable,” USADA executive Jeff Cook said the agency didn’t have a full understanding of the M3 metabolite in Jones’ system and didn’t want to punish him twice for the substance, which was found in a July 2017 drug test and resulted in a 15-month suspension.

Believing Jones wasn’t under the jurisdiction of California or Nevada when the adverse tests were found, Cook said USADA chose only to notify Nevada on Dec. 6 “out of abundance of courtesy and caution” because of the fighter’s upcoming fight on Dec. 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“As soon as we were able to be confident in our understanding of how to interpret those results was the moment we provided notification and how we were handling them,” Cook said.

But both Nevada and California commissions took exception to USADA’s approach. NSAC Chairman Bob Bennett questioned how the agency thought it had sole jurisdiction over the positive tests when Jones had been suspended for 15 months and fined by the California State Athletic Commission.

In the midst of questioning Cook, Bennett revealed a text message he’d received from CSAC Executive Director Andy Foster, who reportedly said Jones wouldn’t have been licensed had the positive tests been known prior to a CSAC hearing on Dec. 11 – the very hearing that cleared the way for Jones to compete in Nevada at UFC 232.

“He was, I would say, quite upset, that he took the responsibility to speak on behalf or Mr. Jones and recommend a license for Mr. Jones, not knowing he had two adverse analytical findings before that,” said Bennett of a conversation he had with Foster on Monday evening.

Cook pointed out that the CSAC ultimately allowed Jones to fight when UFC 232 was moved to California in the wake of a Dec. 9 positive that prompted the NSAC to call for a hearing into his drug testing results. He didn’t mention Foster’s pointed criticism of USADA and vow not to rely on the agency during the Dec. 11 hearing.

By all indications, the NSAC is headed in the same direction as it deals with the fallout from the Jones case.

“You have a really significant flaw in your reporting system,” Bennett told Cook.

“There are clear issues between USADA and athletic commission and promoters,” Marnell added later. “We’re not on the same page. And in my opinion, what suffers from this is credibility by all. My credibility suffers, and your credibility suffers.

“It’s hard to digest months and months of tests that you’ve decided you’re going to hold onto until you know what it is. We have to get to a higher standard of credibility amongst all of our organizations. The public ain’t buying this, and I’ll tell you, I ain’t buying this. It’s weak and it’s soft.”

In a statement provided to ESPN.com, USADA praised the NSAC’s decision to license Jones and said it backed the earlier findings with the current UFC champ’s flucuating test results.

“This decision is the same conclusion we reached based on the facts and science under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and the California Commission reached under its rules,” USADA spokesperson Adam Woullard stated. “The NAC conducted a hearing, weighed the facts, listened to the independent experts, and appropriately determined that the trace amounts of M3 found in Jones’ samples were residual and provided no performance-enhancing benefit and respected the principle of double jeopardy.

“Anti-doping cases in all sports are sometimes complex and a fair system must look at each one individually, taking all evidence into account to reach a just conclusion ensuring intentional cheats are punished. We look forward to coordinating efforts with the NAC to ensure our programs complement one another moving forward.”

According to the terms of a conditional, one-time license given to Jones, the agencies will need to do just that as Jones nears a title fight with Anthony Smith at UFC 235 on March 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. For the first 40 days, the NSAC will take the lead on additional drug testing. After the pay-per-view event, the NSAC, USADA and the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA), which Jones was ordered to join after his Dec. 9 positive, will be a joint effort.

“Interpretation of those results is not something that any testing agency should hold on before submitting it to the agency where the fighter is either under suspension or scheduled to fight,” Marnell said after the hearing. “There are communication gaps, and there were communication gaps with USADA long before the UFC ever hired USADA to do its testing. We’ve got to get better at it. They’ve got to get better at it. Our world, it’s really simple. We just want the information as fast as we can get it. We don’t always get that.”

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