Unlike many fighters, Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler welcomes the stringent USADA testing procedures with open arms.
This Saturday’s Bellator 221 lightweight championship fight between Michael Chandler and Patricio “Pitbull” Friere has turned a little personal. Last month, Friere accused the champion of being on performance-enhancing drugs given his connection with former UFC titleholder T.J. Dillashaw, who was recently suspended after testing positive for EPO.
“His legacy is doping. That’s his legacy,” Freire told MMA Fighting in April. “He’s done this all by doping. He knows it. He knows he just needs to be random tested and you’ll see. That’s it. That’s why he didn’t join the UFC, because he’s avoiding USADA.”
Chandler went on to address these claims during Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour.
“There’s absolutely no validity whatsoever,” he said (via MMA Fighting). “I’ve never touched a performance-enhancing drug. The good thing is, I can sit back and see the accusations and see the things people say. Any sane person would say that’s a feather in my cap: ‘You obviously look so good or you’re such a conditioned athlete that people accuse you of those kinds of things.’
“For him to say that, I don’t really understand where his basis is. All he’s ever said is ‘I think he’s using them’ or ‘He is using them.’”
Chandler also stated he was only able to train with Dillashaw once, and that the drug test fiasco was all “unfortunate timing.” But he also admitted to being a bit envious of how stringent the UFC’s testing procedures are.
“Whether Bellator likes to admit it or not, they don’t have USADA” he said. “That’s the hard part about it all. I can’t sit here and say I have USADA knocking on my door every other day like some of these guys.
“I see USADA at the gym and get a little bit jealous because I wish they were testing me.”
Bellator 221 will take place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.