Tag: drug screening policy

UFC’s New Drug Rules: All Fighters Tested Overseas, No Bonuses Until Tests Are Passed


(“F*ckin’ with your cash is the only thing you kids seem to understand!” / Photo via FCFighter.com)

UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner revealed to MMAJunkie yesterday that the promotion has instituted a pair of new rules to act as deterrents against their fighters using performance enhancing drugs. First, all fighters who compete at international events will now be tested for performance-enhancing drugs. The UFC has traditionally hired independent local facilities to test fighters during events outside of North America, but in the past, only a few fighters per card were usually selected for testing.

The shift in policy may have been spurred by a recent stretch in which the UFC’s independent drug screening busted fighters at three consecutive overseas cards. UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro — where all fighters were screened for banned substances — resulted in suspensions for Stephan Bonnar (Drostanolone) and Dave Herman (marijuana). A month later, Thiago Silva tested positive for weed at UFC Macao. And finally, Rousimar Palhares and Joey Beltran failed drug tests following UFC on FX 6 in Australia.

The wave of botched tests is an embarrassing trend, and the UFC is clearly trying to get in front of it. Testing all their fighters at international events going forward will send a message to fighters who may have considered rolling the dice with banned substances, thinking that testing policies are a little more lax when formal athletic commissions aren’t running the show.


(“F*ckin’ with your cash is the only thing you kids seem to understand!” / Photo via FCFighter.com)

UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner revealed to MMAJunkie yesterday that the promotion has instituted a pair of new rules to act as deterrents against their fighters using performance enhancing drugs. First, all fighters who compete at international events will now be tested for performance-enhancing drugs. The UFC has traditionally hired independent local facilities to test fighters during events outside of North America, but in the past, only a few fighters per card were usually selected for testing.

The shift in policy may have been spurred by a recent stretch in which the UFC’s independent drug screening busted fighters at three consecutive overseas cards. UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro — where all fighters were screened for banned substances — resulted in suspensions for Stephan Bonnar (Drostanolone) and Dave Herman (marijuana). A month later, Thiago Silva tested positive for weed at UFC Macao. And finally, Rousimar Palhares and Joey Beltran failed drug tests following UFC on FX 6 in Australia.

The wave of botched tests is an embarrassing trend, and the UFC is clearly trying to get in front of it. Testing all their fighters at international events going forward will send a message to fighters who may have considered rolling the dice with banned substances, thinking that testing policies are a little more lax when formal athletic commissions aren’t running the show.

And if the greater risk of a suspension isn’t enough of a deterrent, Ratner also stated that from now on, the UFC will no longer pay out their end-of-night performance bonuses until drug testing results come back. The policy changes will be in place this weekend at UFC on FX 7: Belfort vs Bisping in Sao Paulo, Brazil. According to MMAJunkie, a new Brazilian commission appointed by the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) will oversee the event.

In 2006, UFC on FX 7 headliner Vitor Belfort tested positive for 4-Hydroxytestosterone following his loss to Dan Henderson at PRIDE 32, and immediately invoked the tainted supplement defense.

Former WADA President and IOC VP Says Zuffa’s New Drug Testing Policy is a Farce


(“No athlete under my watch has ever gotten away with using a rubber fake piss-filled wang. And that’s a fact.”)

When asked about the announcement yesterday that Zuffa is adopting a pre-contract drug screening policy and that the parent company of the UFC and Strikeforce would be stepping up its random drug testing strategy, the former head of the World Doping Agency and one-time vice president of the International Olympic Committee dismissed the news as simply being smoke and mirrors.

Montreal-based lawyer Dick Pound told the Canadian Press that by testing athletes in the month or so prior to and the day of a contracted bout, Zuffa is leaving a wide window of opportunity open for PED use the rest of the year by its athletes.

“It’s complete illusory and obviously intended to be that way.The minute you know when you’ll be tested, it’s very easy to make sure you don’t test positive.”


(“No athlete under my watch has ever gotten away with using a rubber fake piss-filled wang. And that’s a fact.”)

When asked about the announcement yesterday that Zuffa is adopting a pre-contract drug screening policy and that the parent company of the UFC and Strikeforce would be stepping up its random drug testing strategy, the former head of the World Doping Agency and one-time vice president of the International Olympic Committee dismissed the news as simply being smoke and mirrors.

Montreal-based lawyer Dick Pound told the Canadian Press that by testing athletes in the month or so prior to and the day of a contracted bout, Zuffa is leaving a wide window of opportunity open for PED use the rest of the year by its athletes.

“It’s complete illusory and obviously intended to be that way.The minute you know when you’ll be tested, it’s very easy to make sure you don’t test positive.”

Pound says that if Zuffa is really concerned with the widespread problem, it would institute WADA or Olympic-style testing to level the playing field and to ensure the health and safety of its employees.

“The only way to really test athletes is to have a random drug testing program 365 days a year so that they cannot prepare,” Pound explained. “They’re just trying to do enough to keep the Congress off their backs.”

Pound was in London, Ontario Monday to speak at a celebrity sports dinner and auction, where he touched on the attraction of PEDs for young athletes.

“It’s very tough because it’s a very seductive approach the people urging it on them are taking.They just say, ‘It just helps you recover.’You have to get them to understand it’s cheating, a dangerous cheating. And you end up not respecting the game, not respecting your opponents and not respecting yourself. Oddly enough, most athletes understand that you need hard work to succeed . . . but this is a shortcut,” he explained, while admitting that it may take the death of a star athlete to make PED users realize that abusing them can have dire consequences.”We tend to react to the big things. It’s a mark of our society. I think there is a growing awareness, but there are always people who are sociopaths, who think the rules don’t apply to them.”