The UFC 184 main event is a go.
Both Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano passed random, out-of-competition drug tests and have been cleared to compete by the California State Athletic Commission, executive director Andy Foster told MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani on Thursday.
Rousey and Zingano were both given urine tests last week ahead of their Feb. 28 bout in Los Angeles. The results came back Thursday and the two women did not test positive for any performance-enhancing drug. The two will be tested again after the fight at Staples Center.
Rousey (10-0) is defending her UFC women’s bantamweight title against Zingano (9-0). The original UFC 184 main event was supposed to be Chris Weidman versus Vitor Belfort for the UFC middleweight title before Weidman sustained a rib injury.
Drug-testing has been a hot topic in MMA. Anderson Silva, regarded as the best UFC champion of all time, popped for anabolic steroids in an out-of-competition test before UFC 183 last month.
Pushed in part by that negative test, the UFC announced sweeping changes to its drug policy Wednesday — every one of its nearly 600 fighters will be tested randomly year-round beginning July 1 by a third-party agency. The organization will also urge state athletic commissions to increase the suspensions for any fighter caught. The UFC is hoping for a ban of two to four years.
Rousey has long been an advocate of stricter drug testing. The former Olympic judo bronze medalist said Wednesday on a conference call that she was “extremely encouraged” by the announcement of the new system.
“The more testing there is, the better it is, because that means the safer that the fighters will be,” Rousey said.