The UFC extends their contract for USADA testing

Guilty or Innocent? The fight for a clean sport

As of 2016 79 UFC fighters have been suspended for failed druf tests, these include the promotions top fighters such as Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones, Nick Diaz and Anderson Silva. Since the introduction of the USADA(U.S Anti Doping Agency) testing program many fighters who have been suspected of cheating have either dropped off in skill or physical appearance hich doesn’t prove anything but there is a noticeable change. The new program is catching cheaters before they even get to debut in case with Russian fighter Ivan Shtyrkov who was set to compete but was released before his debut after a failed test. The change has lead to many fighters deciding to go elsewhere like Asia and Europe where the organizations don’t have a strict system.

Within the failed drug tests there bound to be casualties which sparked a question how many of these athletes are innocent? This has caused controversy within the MMA community with fighters crying foul on suspensions they believed were wrongly given. So far out of 79 fighters only ten have come out and proved their innocence, their argument, contaminated supplements. Many fighters who have claimed innocent just couldn’t afford to fight the suspension in court and just simply served their suspension.

Criticism has been given on USADA, an organization some believed to be the standard of drug testing. Innocent fighters have stated that their careers have been shorten as the window of opportunity for a combat athlete is small and short. And has ruined their reputation with many losing sponsors which provide the fighter their only other income when not competing. This is the case of former UFC heavyweight Josh Barnett,42 who served two years out of four for a failed test in which he proved to be innocent. Barnett stated he “lost money, sponsors and most importantly his only way to make money in fighting.” Barnett along with two other UFC fighters who were also flagged by USADA sued the supplement company and all three were exonerated of the suspensions.

One important question can be asked and that’s whether the UFC have special treatment towards their top fighters. One example of this was the return of Former Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 200, the companys 200th event. As per regulation any athlete who is retired must be entered in the testing pool for “at least six months” which Lesnar was given a shorter eligibility time to be able to compete on the night of the event. After the event it was revealed that Lesnar had failed two tests for a anabolic steroid which resulted in turning his win to a no contest, paying a fine of 250,000 and a one year suspension. The UFC received heavy criticism for allowing and shortening Lesnar time in the testing pool but soon talks of the whole situation dwindle.

Another situation was the case of Jon Jones who is considered the best MMA fighter in the world and who has a record of failing three tests, two of which were for steroids. Now under the USADA protocol certain steroids receive different lengths of suspension based on based on their criteria Jones should have served a lengthy term but was given one year. The drug he tested positive for was Turinabol a common drug used in bodybuilding which will exit the body within 16 hours. The event that took major criticism was UFC 232 where Jones once again failed a test but was given an exemption because it was determined that the drug he tested positive for was residue from a year ago. The event if canceled would have cost the UFC millions so they moved the event from Las Vegas to California on the week of the fight outraging fans who had planned to go to the fight in person.

Backlash on the organization came mostly from fighters who criticized both the UFC and USADA. Among those who thought Jones was given special treatment were former UFC fighters Frank Mir a former heavyweight champion and Tom lawlor both who tested almost identical to Jones were suspended two years and then release by the promotion. Both took to court and proved their innocence where as Jones was given community service and paperwork for rehab to file which he admitted he never read and let his manager handle it and still served 15 months out of 48 and returned to fighting. The debate still continues among former fighters and journalists who try to provide a solution for fighters who are proven to be innocent.

Currently another fighter Sean O’Malley has been suspended twice for low levels of osterine which has taken him out of two fights since October 6th 2018. O’Malley has proven his innocence but is still serving a suspension. Some will ask, is it USADA’s responsibility to handle cases where the fighter is not guilty or are they just the middleman and hand out the punishment. Without USADA defending the innocent along with the UFC the fighters face an uphill battle. With Jon Jones fighting in early 2020 many will be paying attention for any injustice or “special treatment” that jones might recieve as one of the promotions top earners.