So much for Georges St. Pierre’s attempts to clear his name against as-yet-unfounded accusations of being a drugs cheat. His proposal to instigate out-of-competition testing in his forthcoming UFC welterweight title fight against Johny Hendricks …
So much for Georges St. Pierre’s attempts to clear his name against as-yet-unfounded accusations of being a drugs cheat. His proposal to instigate out-of-competition testing in his forthcoming UFC welterweight title fight against Johny Hendricks has ended, like so many similar schemes, in complete debacle.
Both sides have accused the other of not being completely transparent, and in the end, neither fighter has come out blameless.
What seems obvious now is that voluntary drug testing, such as those conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), will never work in MMA.
The sport suffers from the same problem that has beset many similar sports in that it ultimately lacks an overarching governing body. What we’re left with is individual fighters routinely playing the drug-testing card, like in boxing, as elaborate gamesmanship.
Comments made by Hendricks to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour Monday are telling:
If GSP’s clean, I’ve got nothing to worry about, but what if he’s not? All of a sudden he starts pushing these drug tests, and here he is blowing up big and he starts taking VADA and fails, then I don’t get my title shot. That’s why I’m sitting here saying I don’t want a drug test.
Hendricks went on to say:
Clean or not, I don’t care… If they come out and say we have documents that GSP’s doing this, this and this. I’m just going to toss them to the side because I want that belt and he’s the one that has it. So if I say something about it and yeah you bust him, or whatever, then I lose my title shot.
The situation is similar to what B.J. Penn and Rory MacDonald went through in the run up to their fight last year. Penn, who had accused MacDonald (like GSP before him) of using steroids, had asked both of them to submit to VADA testing. After agreement from his opponent, he then introduced many caveats, including having them agree to keep the results of any tests secret until after their fight.
That position is understandable. Fighters typically spend a huge amount of their purse on training and preparing themselves for fights. To risk all that in case their opponent, who they’ve already insinuated uses PEDs, fails a test, is an untenable position.
For Hendricks, that clearly means risking a title shot for which he’s worked so hard to get. In the end, we’re left with the status-quo. A drug testing system instigated by local state athletics commissions with enough loopholes to drive a Boeing 747 through.
Athletics commissions that only test in the small window between when a fighter applies for a licence and immediately after, leaving them to abuse any PED they want for the months in training before. Commissions which don’t have the money to test all fighters or test for all drugs.
Meanwhile, the UFC sits silently, with as much at risk from failed tests as the fighters themselves.
So much for Georges St. Pierre’s attempts to clear his name against as-yet-unfounded accusations of being a drugs cheat. His proposal to instigate out-of-competition testing in his forthcoming UFC welterweight title fight against Johny Hendricks …
So much for Georges St. Pierre’s attempts to clear his name against as-yet-unfounded accusations of being a drugs cheat. His proposal to instigate out-of-competition testing in his forthcoming UFC welterweight title fight against Johny Hendricks has ended, like so many similar schemes, in complete debacle.
Both sides have accused the other of not being completely transparent, and in the end, neither fighter has come out blameless.
What seems obvious now is that voluntary drug testing, such as those conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), will never work in MMA.
The sport suffers from the same problem that has beset many similar sports in that it ultimately lacks an overarching governing body. What we’re left with is individual fighters routinely playing the drug-testing card, like in boxing, as elaborate gamesmanship.
Comments made by Hendricks to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour Monday are telling:
If GSP’s clean, I’ve got nothing to worry about, but what if he’s not? All of a sudden he starts pushing these drug tests, and here he is blowing up big and he starts taking VADA and fails, then I don’t get my title shot. That’s why I’m sitting here saying I don’t want a drug test.
Hendricks went on to say:
Clean or not, I don’t care… If they come out and say we have documents that GSP’s doing this, this and this. I’m just going to toss them to the side because I want that belt and he’s the one that has it. So if I say something about it and yeah you bust him, or whatever, then I lose my title shot.
The situation is similar to what B.J. Penn and Rory MacDonald went through in the run up to their fight last year. Penn, who had accused MacDonald (like GSP before him) of using steroids, had asked both of them to submit to VADA testing. After agreement from his opponent, he then introduced many caveats, including having them agree to keep the results of any tests secret until after their fight.
That position is understandable. Fighters typically spend a huge amount of their purse on training and preparing themselves for fights. To risk all that in case their opponent, who they’ve already insinuated uses PEDs, fails a test, is an untenable position.
For Hendricks, that clearly means risking a title shot for which he’s worked so hard to get. In the end, we’re left with the status-quo. A drug testing system instigated by local state athletics commissions with enough loopholes to drive a Boeing 747 through.
Athletics commissions that only test in the small window between when a fighter applies for a licence and immediately after, leaving them to abuse any PED they want for the months in training before. Commissions which don’t have the money to test all fighters or test for all drugs.
Meanwhile, the UFC sits silently, with as much at risk from failed tests as the fighters themselves.
So much for Georges St. Pierre’s attempts to clear his name against as-yet-unfounded accusations of being a drugs cheat. His proposal to instigate out-of-competition testing in his forthcoming UFC welterweight title fight against Johny Hendricks …
So much for Georges St. Pierre’s attempts to clear his name against as-yet-unfounded accusations of being a drugs cheat. His proposal to instigate out-of-competition testing in his forthcoming UFC welterweight title fight against Johny Hendricks has ended, like so many similar schemes, in complete debacle.
Both sides have accused the other of not being completely transparent, and in the end, neither fighter has come out blameless.
What seems obvious now is that voluntary drug testing, such as those conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), will never work in MMA.
The sport suffers from the same problem that has beset many similar sports in that it ultimately lacks an overarching governing body. What we’re left with is individual fighters routinely playing the drug-testing card, like in boxing, as elaborate gamesmanship.
Comments made by Hendricks to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour Monday are telling:
If GSP’s clean, I’ve got nothing to worry about, but what if he’s not? All of a sudden he starts pushing these drug tests, and here he is blowing up big and he starts taking VADA and fails, then I don’t get my title shot. That’s why I’m sitting here saying I don’t want a drug test.
Hendricks went on to say:
Clean or not, I don’t care… If they come out and say we have documents that GSP’s doing this, this and this. I’m just going to toss them to the side because I want that belt and he’s the one that has it. So if I say something about it and yeah you bust him, or whatever, then I lose my title shot.
The situation is similar to what B.J. Penn and Rory MacDonald went through in the run up to their fight last year. Penn, who had accused MacDonald (like GSP before him) of using steroids, had asked both of them to submit to VADA testing. After agreement from his opponent, he then introduced many caveats, including having them agree to keep the results of any tests secret until after their fight.
That position is understandable. Fighters typically spend a huge amount of their purse on training and preparing themselves for fights. To risk all that in case their opponent, who they’ve already insinuated uses PEDs, fails a test, is an untenable position.
For Hendricks, that clearly means risking a title shot for which he’s worked so hard to get. In the end, we’re left with the status-quo. A drug testing system instigated by local state athletics commissions with enough loopholes to drive a Boeing 747 through.
Athletics commissions that only test in the small window between when a fighter applies for a licence and immediately after, leaving them to abuse any PED they want for the months in training before. Commissions which don’t have the money to test all fighters or test for all drugs.
Meanwhile, the UFC sits silently, with as much at risk from failed tests as the fighters themselves.
MMA’s Great Debate Radio returns with a new show as Josh Barnett and World Series of Fighting’s Jesse Taylor stop by along with all new debate including talk about the recent dust-up between Georges St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks.
First up on the show t…
MMA‘s Great Debate Radio returns with a new show as Josh Barnett and World Series of Fighting’s Jesse Taylor stop by along with all new debate including talk about the recent dust-up between Georges St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks.
First up on the show today is former UFC champion Josh Barnett, who stops by to discuss his win over Frank Mir at UFC 164. Barnett will talk about the stoppage and what he wants next in the UFC.
Also on the show, former Ultimate Fighter finalist Jesse Taylor talks about his recent win streak and how it has prepared him for his shot at the middleweight title in World Series of Fighting.
Finally, the debate heats up today as we discuss the recent drug testing issue between Georges St-Pierre, Johny Hendricks and the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA).
Today’s debate topics include:
The current discussion about drug testing with VADA, Georges St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks—who is right and who is wrong?
Rashad Evans says he was going through the motions in many of his recent fights. Do you believe a change in attitude will help him reach the top again?
Alistair Overeem faces Frank Mir at UFC 167—do you believe the loser of this fight will be cut with a loss?
This is MMA’s Great Debate Radio for Tuesday, September 10, 2013
UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks is currently in the middle of a public relations battle about drug testing prior to his bout against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 167 when all he really wants to do is prepare and build the anticipation for the bi…
UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks is currently in the middle of a public relations battle about drug testing prior to his bout against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 167 when all he really wants to do is prepare and build the anticipation for the biggest fight of his career.
The questions were raised recently when St-Pierre signed on with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) to do additional testing ahead of his fight with Hendricks. The welterweight champion invited Hendricks to participate as well, even going as far as offering to pay for the challenger’s portion of the cost for the program.
Everything seemed ready to happen until Hendricks’ management team was made aware that VADA was footing the bill for GSP‘s testing, which contradicted the earlier statements that he was paying for the program himself. A storm of controversy followed after Hendricks and his team decided to turn to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (who will oversee the bout at UFC 167) for advice on the matter, and they were referred to WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) for testing instead.
WADA is the group that oversees the standards for drug testing for the Olympics and other major sports across the world.
Hendricks’ camp then felt burned by VADA after an anonymous report was released stating the former NCAA champion hadn’t signed up for testing ahead of his bout against St-Pierre in November. While there was never a direct statement from the company about the matter, the writing was on the wall that by not signing on for testing with VADA, Hendricks had to be hiding something, right?
“That’s what I was telling people. No one’s ever accused me of being on steroids,” Hendricks said on Monday. “If I was on steroids I’d probably be fighting 205 or heavyweight, and I probably couldn’t wipe my own ass. That’s probably what would happen if I got on steroids. But here’s the thing, I just want to be able to do it on my own.
“I don’t want to sit there and say I was the pound-for-pound, best champion there ever was, but I had some help. Not only that but I want to grow to 60, 70, 80, 90 years old, I want to see my kids and them grow up and my kids’ grandkids. That’s my goal in life, and if I put stuff in my body I may not make those ages.”
Hendricks is no stranger to stringent drug testing after being a high-level wrestler at Oklahoma State, where he was an NCAA champion for the program as well. He routinely underwent drug testing, never tested positive for anything and has never tested positive for any drug during any of his MMA fights either.
“In college what they do is sometimes they call you at 6:30 in the morning, you have to be there at 7 or 7:30 at the latest. You have to be in there and you have to do the drug test,” Hendricks explained. “If you no-show that’s called a failure and you get suspended for two or three events. If you no-show again, they automatically suspend you for the semester. So I know what it’s like to get random drug tested. I got it through my whole career at Oklahoma State.”
The point Hendricks is trying to make is that he’s never avoided additional drug testing, he just doesn’t want to work with a group like VADA.
VADA has come under fire previously for an inflammatory statement that was posted on their website about former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin. The company took down the article and claimed it was posted by an intern, who was then fired for the action.
UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrionealso passed on dealing with VADA prior to his fight last year against Roy Nelson at the Ultimate Fighter 16 finale show after not having a positive interaction with the company. He even sent Hendricks a message via Twitter showing support for his decision to turn down VADA‘s testing.
Hendricks wants to make it very clear—he’s all for additional drug testing, and they can test him as often as they want, as many times as they want leading up to the fight. He just wants the people overseeing the procedures to be completely trustworthy, and according to Hendricks that’s not VADA.
“We talked to the Nevada State Commission and they had nothing but good things to say about WADA,” Hendricks said. “They’ve had some run-ins with VADA, and Matt Mitrione and some guys there’s things that happened that questioned you to go there. Here I am on the biggest fight in my career throwing my trust into GSP that he’s not in with him. Why is he pushing VADA so hard? There’s a lot of red flags to throw up for me. That’s why I said I’m not going to play into your game. If you want to test me, I will gladly do the Nevada State Commission whatever they give me or I want to do WADA.
“I know I’m going to pass it whether they come three times or they come 10 times because that’s my goal. I’m going to crush it.”
As for his opponent, Hendricks isn’t in the business of throwing out wild accusations saying that St-Pierre is cheating or ever has cheated in the past. When it’s all said and done, Hendricks could really care less if the UFC champion is on some kind of performance enhancing drug because it’s not going to save him when they’re in the cage together at UFC 167.
“It never entered my mind,” Hendricks said about St-Pierre potentially cheating. “Here’s the thing—I don’t care if he’s on anything, I really don’t. Because I’m needing him to show up November 16. If I start accusing him of something, and if he doesn’t want to fight me, he’s the champ he can say ‘oh I’m injured’ or this happened, or that happened. There’s a lot of things that you can sit there and make argument to.
“When he first made the announcement (about VADA) I was like I don’t know if I want to come back with (saying) anything because I know I’m not on anything but I don’t want to run him off. I need him to show up that night, and legal or not, I’m not saying he isn’t and I’m not saying he is, but legal or not, I need him to show up so I can get a shot at that (belt) he carries around.”
At this point, Hendricks is moving past all the drug testing talk because he just wants to get ready for the fight. If WADA shows up at his doorstep tomorrow to take a test, he’ll submit to it and has no doubts he’ll pass with flying colors.
The biggest disappointment about this entire situation is that Hendricks knows he’s part of something special coming up in November as part of the UFC’s 20th anniversary show, where he will be in the main event against St-Pierre. For the last week, instead of focusing on the fight and the promotion of the show, he’s dealt with nothing but questions about drug testing, and in that sense it’s taking away from how big he wants his fight with St-Pierre to be come November 16.
“He’s had four fights to try and clear his name. All of a sudden here it is the 20th anniversary of the UFC, and instead of us talking about how amazing this fight card is and how sweet it is to get this title shot I’ve been sitting here acting like I’ve been accused of taking drugs for the last 10 years,” Hendricks said. “I feel like I’ve been cheated on that. This card, I’m super pumped to be on and here we’re discussing drug testing and that kind of sucks.”
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Upcoming UFC title challenger Johny Hendricks is going on the offensive after a report surfaced that he has yet to fill out his paperwork to commence Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) Drug Testing leading up to his title fight with Georges St-Pi…
Upcoming UFC title challenger Johny Hendricks is going on the offensive after a report surfaced that he has yet to fill out his paperwork to commence Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) Drug Testing leading up to his title fight with Georges St-Pierre at UFC 167, via TVA Sports.
Hendricks’ manager, Ted Ehrhardt, told MMA Junkie that St-Pierre turned down the opportunity to have testing done by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) before voicing his opinion on the matter:
GSP’s had a black cloud over him for years (with) people thinking he’s on HGH (human growth hormone) or whatever they think he’s on, and I think he’s trying to clear his name, and we just happen to be the fight that he’s doing it … Probably if we had something to hide, it would bother us more. But we know we’re clean; we’re good. You test Johny, and the only thing he’s going to test positive for is high cholesterol because he eats fast food.
GSP is known for having one of the best physiques in MMA, while Hendricks is one of the largest welterweights in the sport, with nutritionist Mike Dolce stating that “Bigg Rigg” walks around as heavy as 215 pounds, via MMA Junkie.
Nevertheless, the two top 170-pounders have been drug tested multiple times by multiple commissions and have never failed a drug test.
Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer also weighed in on the drug testing situation surrounding the Nov. 16 title tilt, backing up Ehrhardt‘s claim that GSP‘s camp balked at WADA testing:
They were asking, “Well, what do you test for?” My answer is always the same: We test for prohibited substances as listed on the WADA list. (They said), “Well, what does that mean? Does that mean HGH, does that mean this, does that mean that?” Yes, it means it all. The answer then should have been, “OK.” … OK, fine, use VADA. That’s not the question. The question is do you want to do outside testing through the athletic commission? And basically, they said we want to know all the tests you do so Georges’ medical advisors can vet the test first before we decide. I said I will take that as a no. We will let you know if we’re going to do any testing on our own. Goodbye.
Kizer added that both Hendricks and St-Pierre have been “great licensees in the past” and wasn’t interested in getting into a “pissing match” with either side regarding outside testing.
The executive director also noted that the NSAC will randomly test both athletes leading to their pay-per-view showdown, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
St-Pierre, who has been on top of the UFC’s welterweight division since 2008, has won 11 in a row and is looking to make it nine straight title defenses against Hendricks.
Meanwhile, the challenger has been victorious in six straight bouts, including knockouts of then-top contenders Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann.
JohnHeinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks is currently in the middle of a public relations battle about drug testing prior to his bout against Georges St-Pierre at