LAS VEGAS — If you thought the subject of out-of-competition drug testing between UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and challenger Johny Hendricks was going to go away now that the fight is around the corner, guess again.
An aggressive reporter for the French-Canadian news outlet RDS goaded Hendricks into a several minutes long, heated debate over the topic during Hendricks’ media scrum at Wednesday’s UFC 167 open workouts.
When asked why Hendricks wouldn’t submit to testing overseen by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association in the weeks leading to the fight, testing which St-Pierre undertook, Hendricks noticeably raised his voice.
“He picked the wrong guy,” the challenger said. “He picked the wrong guy to do a drug test. Why didn’t he do it six years ago? The last six fights, the last six years, he won’t do it. Why does he do it now?”
This led to an argument between Hendricks and the reporter, in which Hendricks said that while he didn’t trust VADA, he’d take World Anti-Doping Agency testing through the Nevada Athletic Commission, and noted St-Pierre wouldn’t accept such testing.
The reporter stated he doesn’t trust the commission. Hendricks laughed and retorted, “That’s because you’re Canadian,” then launched into a fuller version of his side of things.
“I’m not going to lay my life into [St-Pierre’s] hands,” Hendricks said. “I said WADA. WADA is so much tougher than VADA. They don’t do drug tests where he just ‘randomly’ gets tested the first time a camera is around. WADA, you’re scheduled for 3-4 months, and they have to know exactly where you’re at. And if you don’t show up within an hour of when they call you, you fail.”
“I don’t care if he passes,” Hendricks continued. “I don’t care if he took the drug test. I want him to be the best GSP he can be. If that’s on something, that’s on something. If that’s not, that’s not. I’m not sweating.”
Another reporter calmly asked Hendricks, point blank, if he thought St-Pierre was using.
“I don’t care,” Hendricks said. “Have you seen him in the last two months? He’s shrunk a little bit, hasn’t he? I don’t know. I haven’t seen the guy. I saw him on the press tour. The only thing I know is, when I step into the Octagon, do I still have a six-pack? Check out my pictures. I’m fat. I love it. I’m a fat dude. Nobody gains 15 pounds [of muscle]. I’m pretty shredded at 170. I have very little body fat. … but when I step into the Octagon, I looked at a picture when I was in with [Carlos] Condit, I said ‘dude, you’re fat.’ You can’t see the bottom two abs. You don’t gain 15-20 pounds and still keep that form.”
The first reporter jumped back in and stated that Hendricks doesn’t respect GSP as an athlete.
“What I don’t have respect for is implying that I’m on steroids when he knows nothing about me,” Hendricks replied. “Has anyone accused me of steroids? Has anyone accused me of being on drugs. Hell no. … I’ve been clean my whole entire life, and all of a sudden, some dude who doesn’t know me, he’s been accused the last six years of being on something, he picks me and says I must be on something because I don’t want to follow the Pony train to VADA.”
Hendricks was just getting warmed up.
“The last six years, he’s been accused,” Hendricks said. “It’s an accusation. Word of mouth is very powerful. He knows that, I know that. If I sit there and I know, if I win this belt, I will definitely go to WADA, because I can afford it. If we’re going to drug test, let’s do the hardest, toughest drug testing out there. That’s WADA. They do everything. They hold your sample for 12 years. If any new testing comes out, in that testing, they retest it. If you fail, you’re dirty. … If you want to be on it, be on it. If you’re not, who cares? Don’t drag my name through the mud because the last six years you were scared to do it.”
With that out of his system, Hendricks was asked if those whole controversy gives him any extra motivation for Saturday night.
“I can’t wait to deck the crap out of him,” Hendricks said. “I want his eyes to roll back in his head.”