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Brent Primus thinks USADA is the biggest reason Michael Chandler will not join the UFC.
Brent Primus doesn’t think his rival Michael Chandler will join the UFC due to the strict USADA drug testing procedures he would have to undergo.
Chandler (21-5) became a free agent after his most recent win against Benson Henderson at Bellator 243 this month. UFC president Dana White has since said he ‘would love’ to meet with the former lightweight champion Chandler.
Primus (10-1) defied the odds and picked up a huge underdog win against Chandler back in 2017, but the scores were later levelled when Chandler won the rematch the following year.
“I honestly don’t see him going to the UFC,” Primus said on What the Heck podcast. “I see maybe ONE, but I want him to stay. I want him to stick around and I want that third fight. I know I could have done better in our second fight, and I still have been killing myself over it. But yeah, I want that trilogy fight for sure.
“I’m not gonna say, ‘Oh, I think he’s on steroids,’ but I really wouldn’t doubt if he is. I just don’t think he wants to deal with USADA. If he does go to the UFC, then he’s gonna have to definitely be straight and not be taking EPO or whatever all the crap that people think he’s on. His performance will drop like crazy if he goes to the UFC and he’s not taking what he’s normally taking in Bellator. So I don’t see him doing that.”
Whilst Bellator doesn’t have the same USADA testing as the UFC, they still regularly drug test their fighters. Chandler has never failed a drug test in his career but questions are commonly raised about his status as a clean athlete due to his muscular physique. Chandler recently addressed these claims and said he wants to make those people eat their words.
“There’s also a ton of people out there who whenever it’s posed the question, ‘Who should Michael Chandler fight in the UFC first?’ They say, ‘Michael Chandler would lose to USADA by first-round knockout,’” Chandler said. “So there’s a ton of people out there still who think I’m not clean, they think I’m using drugs, they think I’m using PEDs. They think I wouldn’t pass USADA. It’s almost as if I want to just sign with the UFC just so I can shut those people up.”