Dhiego Lima is not happy to hear that Jesse Taylor failed a recent doping test.
Taylor earned the “The Ultimate Fighter 25” crown with a second-round submission of Lima at the show’s finale back in July. However, he was flagged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after estrogen blocker clomiphene was caught in a test conducted on Aug. 22.
This not only pulled Taylor out of a UFC Fight Night 121 encounter and got him a one-year suspension from USADA but it also added an unfortunate twist to what had been the redemption story of the year.
It all started when Taylor steamrolled his way to the finals of 2007’s TUF 5 only to see himself kicked off the show due to a drunken rampage in Las Vegas. Despite the incident, he was given a UFC fight and lost, but rebounded with a long win streak in regional promotions over the next several years. He was given a second chance on the recent edition of TUF.
“For our fight, he knew our anti-doping would only be a normal pee test,” Lima told MMAjunkie. “So he must have done a cycle for that. And then, one month later, he flunked with a post-cycle drug. Of course, he was taking stuff to fight me. It was a relief for me, to be honest.
“That was on my mind – ‘Why was that guy so much stronger than me?’” Lima said. “I trained so hard, and the guy tossed me around like I was nothing? How? It’s not possible. I knew how strong he was in the house. So for me, it would be the same at the fight.
“I did what I had to do to win, but come fight time, he was like three times stronger than me. I got depressed, you know. I thought about the fight so much, and I couldn’t understand. I knew it. I told everyone after the fight that he was too strong that there was no way that was possible. And there you go.”
Keep in mind, clomiphene was the same substance that caused former champions Brock Lesnar and Jon Jones to be flagged in relation to their respective UFC 200 bouts.
Lima feels that the failed drug test meant some vindication. He felt that he was “thrown around like a kid” by Taylor and that didn’t make any sense to him so with this failed drug test, he got some peace of mind.
“I knew I’d done everything right. It all clicked. It wasn’t just any fight,” Lima said. “It was a finale. There was $250,000 (it actually ended up amounting to $290,000) on the line. I have three kids. I trained very hard for this fight. I suffered so much. Some days, I couldn’t even walk because I was training so hard. I knew about his strength. I knew about his wrestling. I prepared for everything. I trained with him for six weeks. He was on my team.
“I knew what I had to do to win the fight. I did everything right. I passed my post-fight tests. And then I hear the guy flunked a test a month later, knowing he did a cycle for my fight? This hurts me a lot. I suffered so much for this fight, and the guy cheats to beat me? It pisses me off.”
“USADA is trying to clean up the sport, so they need to see that he took a post-cycle drug,” Lima said. “Who doesn’t see that? It’s common sense. They need to take care of me. And I believe they will. They have to give me his contract. We’ll see. He’s suspended, so he won’t even fight. I’m here. I passed my tests. I’m training hard. I’ll fight anyone.”
“The fighters are all on my side – especially the clean ones,” Lima said. “They know where I’m coming from. Brian Stann, who I used to train with, always told me: ‘Dhiego, when you fight someone who’s on PEDs, you will know.’ And that’s what happened in this fight.
“I have the fighters on my side. I’m taking to social media. Dana White likes me. So I think there is a chance of at least getting a better contract, especially now that they’re trying to clean the sport with USADA.”
Since the news came out, Taylor immediately maintained he’s “never done steroids.” On the flip side, Lima suspects that’s exactly what his former opponent had been doing for a while.
“I’m no one to judge anyone,” Lima said. “But it’s common sense. The guy is 35 and has a back full of pimples. Where have you seen that before? Is he just hitting puberty now?”
“There is a different in strength, of course, but this also helps them mentally,” Lima said. “We do a camp, we train very hard, and sometimes our body can’t keep up. Sometimes you’re all hurt and broken, so you’re not always training at 100 percent. They say it helps with everything. Their training sessions will always be good, because they have that.
“These guys don’t wanna go through the suffering, they want the easier way. The thing that helps with performance and recovery. And these guys need to be banned. For a guy like me, who’s never taken anything, who diets every day, who trains hard, who goes through all the hardships, it’s so unfair to us. It’s ridiculous. These guys need to be banned. They need to go away. It makes me angry.”
Despite the fact that Lima was upset with Taylor, Lima noted that it’s also going to allow him to start fresh. He plans on returning to the world famous Octagon in December and will be doing it with a clear mind.
“His story was amazing,” Lima said. “What he did the first time, what he did to return. But if he can sleep at night knowing that he had to cheat to beat me? That’s his problem. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing I had to cheat to get something like this.
“He fought well and all, but I knew what I had to do. If he can sleep at night, that’s good for him. But I wouldn’t be able to.”
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