It’s fair to say that drug abuse has ruined some of the Zuffa’s biggest fights in the last few years.
Alistair Overeem was pulled from UFC 146 due to elevated levels of testosterone, resulting in a drastically reshuffled heavyweight fight card.
Instead of receiving an immediate rematch against Anderson Silva after a nail-biter of fight at UFC 117, Chael Sonnen spent a year on the bench for the same thing.
Muhammed Lawal now sits in the employ of Spike TV and Bellator after a positive drug test and a hasty suspension, poised to become a much bigger star than he was in Strikeforce.
Even the women’s division isn’t immune, as pound-for-pound killer Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos failed a test for stanozolol metabolites, ruining any chance of her matching up against rising star Ronda Rousey.
Even Josh Barnett, a marketable and charismatic “Top 10” heavyweight legend, may be on the free market soon, as his repeat suspensions for steroid use add a ton of baggage to any new contract he could sign with Zuffa.
At some point, the UFC had to step in, that much is certain.
But despite UFC President Dana White confirming with the LA Times that his promotion would take up the responsibility of testing fighters under their roster, there’s a bigger problem not being addressed.
No matter what, fighters will take performance enhancing drugs. If hearsay and behind-the-hand speak is to be believed, more than 90 percent of them will do so in hopes of never getting caught.
And when they do get caught?
Serve a suspension, pay a fine, and if you’re popular enough, you’ll be brought back into the fold like nothing happened. Just look at Overeem, Sonnen, Chris Leben, Stephan Bonnar, Sean Sherk and Thiago Silva.
If the UFC is going to adopt the task of drug testing, they’ll have to adopt stiffer punishments as well. Suspensions and fines aren’t going to be enough.
Should fighters be cut for failing drug tests? That would be drastic, but maybe that’s what it’ll take.
In a fair world, Alistair Overeem would be cut from the UFC, and Cris Cyborg would be dropped from Strikeforce. Doing that would send a clear message to the ranks that even if you’re a dominant champion, a PPV draw, or just a fan-favorite fighter, that won’t save you from willingly breaking the rules.
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