Roy Nelson has an earned reputation as a joker. But on Monday, word came that he has cast his hat in the ring for one of the most serious positions in combat sports. The active UFC heavyweight, long known as a gadfly to MMA‘s power brokers, recently applied to be the executive director of the […]
Roy Nelson has an earned reputation as a joker. But on Monday, word came that he has cast his hat in the ring for one of the most serious positions in combat sports. The active UFC heavyweight, long known as a gadfly to MMA‘s power brokers, recently applied to be the executive director of the […]
Which leads into today’s news that Belfort will indeed be applying for a therapeutic usage exemption for TRT in Nevada when his title fight against Weidman is officially booked. Ariel Helwani passed along the news on last night’s installment of UFC Tonight:
“He said he’s on TRT and that his doctors said he has to be on it. This has been prescribed and he’s planning on applying to be on a TUE for the next fight.”
Well, bullshit. For the sake of argument, let’s take Belfort at his word — he needs to load up on testosterone in order to function normally. Is that a valid reason for any athletic commission to grant him an exemption? You’re gonna let a guy use steroids because he’s too sick to compete without them? Honestly, that sounds like the worst reason to give a professional fighter a TUE. But hey, we all know that in Brazil, doctors are essentially Gods and their advice must be followed at all costs, no matter how ridiculous.
Which leads into today’s news that Belfort will indeed be applying for a therapeutic usage exemption for TRT in Nevada when his title fight against Weidman is officially booked. Ariel Helwani passed along the news on last night’s installment of UFC Tonight:
“He said he’s on TRT and that his doctors said he has to be on it. This has been prescribed and he’s planning on applying to be on a TUE for the next fight.”
Well, bullshit. For the sake of argument, let’s take Belfort at his word — he needs to load up on testosterone in order to function normally. Is that a valid reason for any athletic commission to grant him an exemption? You’re gonna let a guy use steroids because he’s too sick to compete without them? Honestly, that sounds like the worst reason to give a professional fighter a TUE. But hey, we all know that in Brazil, doctors are essentially Gods and their advice must be followed at all costs, no matter how ridiculous.
For Belfort, testosterone therapy may be a performance-enabler rather than a performance-enhancer, but that doesn’t make his usage any more legitimate. I’m reminded of Karo Parisyan’s dependency on painkillers during the late part of his UFC run, which earned him a suspension and a fine following his appearance at UFC 94 in 2009. In Parisyan’s case, the drugs didn’t give him superhuman strength, but he’d be a physical and emotional wreck if he had to fight without them. That’s why painkillers generally fall under MMA’s unapproved substances list; theoretically, the UFC only wants healthy fighters competing.
In other words, “this treatment isn’t a performance enhancer, it just allows me to compete” shouldn’t hold water as a medical justification. Belfort allegedly suffers from an illness that would prevent him from being competitive with the UFC’s elite middleweights without the help of TRT. Really, he’s a very sick man. That’s the story he’s sticking to, anyway. And this is the guy who’s getting the next middleweight title shot in the UFC.
(My advice? Put on this song, hold each other tight, and remember why you fell in the love in the first place. / Photo via @lorenzofertitta)
By Jon Mariani
Responding to Georges St-Pierre’s news-making claim that the UFC didn’t support him when he did VADA drug-testing for UFC 167, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta told Yahoo!, “It was extremely disappointing to hear Georges make those comments because I don’t think any organization has embraced drug testing as we have.”
Fertitta also went on to state in an interview with ESPN, “Maybe Georges didn’t understand the level of drug testing Nevada was doing. They are the ultimate authority that handles drug testing, medicals and everything else — and they are very capable.”
The first problem with Fertitta’s statement is that the UFC didn’t exactly embrace drug-testing when GSP tried to bring VADA into the mix. As UFC President Dana White stated, “It’s a little weird,” that St-Pierre wanted the enhanced testing. White went on to say that “He doesn’t have to do it, but I guess he wants to do it. What are you gonna do? Knock yourself out, Georges. Good luck.”
Clearly, that’s not the kind of “support” St-Pierre was looking for.
The larger problem is that when Fertitta says “they are very capable,” referring to Nevada’s athletic commission and drug-testing standards, it couldn’t be further from the truth. The current testing employed in Nevada is a joke, and here’s why…
(My advice? Put on this song, hold each other tight, and remember why you fell in the love in the first place. / Photo via @lorenzofertitta)
By Jon Mariani
Responding to Georges St-Pierre’s news-making claim that the UFC didn’t support him when he did VADA drug-testing for UFC 167, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta told Yahoo!, “It was extremely disappointing to hear Georges make those comments because I don’t think any organization has embraced drug testing as we have.”
Fertitta also went on to state in an interview with ESPN, “Maybe Georges didn’t understand the level of drug testing Nevada was doing. They are the ultimate authority that handles drug testing, medicals and everything else — and they are very capable.”
The first problem with Fertitta’s statement is that the UFC didn’t exactly embrace drug-testing when GSP tried to bring VADA into the mix. As UFC President Dana White stated, “It’s a little weird,” that St-Pierre wanted the enhanced testing. White went on to say that “He doesn’t have to do it, but I guess he wants to do it. What are you gonna do? Knock yourself out, Georges. Good luck.”
Clearly, that’s not the kind of “support” St-Pierre was looking for.
The larger problem is that when Fertitta says “they are very capable,” referring to Nevada’s athletic commission and drug-testing standards, it couldn’t be further from the truth. The current testing employed in Nevada is a joke, and here’s why…
The State Of Current Testing In MMA
First off let’s look at the current testing being employed. Fighters are rarely tested before fights. Nevada has a occasionally done some “random” testing of fighters, but for the most part, testing is done either immediately before or after a fight takes place. And that “random” testing Nevada does is mostly performed at press conferences held by promoters. As Fight Opinion’s Zach Arnold stated “That’s not exactly ‘out of competition’ testing by traditional standards.” If you look at it, Nevada isn’t employing truly random testing, which makes you realize just how ridiculous it is that Alistair Overeem was busted in March of 2012, following a UFC 146 press conference.
There is a reason that in 2011 Tyler Tygart, the chief of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, called drug testing in MMA “horrific,” and “inadequate.” Part of the reason for his statement is that testing in combat sports is not random. Balco founder Victor Conte recently said, “I consider in-competition drug tests to be more IQ tests than drug tests because athletes can simply taper off before competitions and easily avoid testing positive. I believe that random out-of-competition tests are a far more effective use of the available resources.”
Why Enhanced Testing is Necessary
Athletic commissions do not currently employ the most sophisticated testing available. Tests such as the Carbon Isotope Ratio test, the most effective deterrent of exogenous testosterone usage, is not currently utilized due to its high cost. There is a reason Vitor Belfort did not get caught when he was illegally using testosterone. In 2012, VADA busted boxer Lamont Peterson for illegally using testosterone. When asked point blank if the NSAC would have caught Lemont Peterson, Keith Kizer admitted, “Probably not from the facts that I know.” Peterson’s T/E Ratio was 3.77 to 1, while the NSAC has a 6 to 1 ratio.
Kizer went on to say, “My understanding is that his level was 3.77 to 1… and I don’t know if that was a purposeful attempt to conceal [his use] by keeping it under 4 to 1 or not. That’s a question for someone else and not for me. But regardless, the CIR was able to catch it without the level being high.”
What he is essentially saying is “I don’t know if the fighter was trying to cheat, but if he was, we wouldn’t have caught him.” If that isn’t a complete indictment of your testing, I don’t know what is.
When Lorenzo Fertitta says, “Hopefully, because the penalties for being caught have gone to the extent they have — monetary, suspensions, revocations of licenses — it’s convincing these guys it’s not worth it,” he is wrong. To beat the current testing, all you need is a large bank account to afford the performance-enhancers like EPO and HGH that the commissions don’t test for, and a little bit of knowledge of when they do the tests. A far more effective deterrent would be to implement random enhanced testing — that is, if the UFC and athletic commissions truly “advocate for the most rigorous drug testing possible.”
At the risk of lapsing into conspiracy-mode, the timing of resignation is undeniably suspicious. The UFC just announced that Vitor Belfort vs. Chris Weidman was going to take place in Las Vegas, and Kizer was previously on record saying “I don’t see Vitor Belfort getting a TRT exemption from us.” However, that stance had recently changed. It’s hard to accept that this was Kizer’s decision alone.
In honor of his resignation, I thought it would be a good time to look back a few moments from Keith Kizer’s career that will define his legacy…
“Just because a judge’s scorecard ends up even, doesn’t mean the judge necessarily thought the fight as a whole was even,” Kizer said. “It could be that a judge has six rounds for each fighter, but the six rounds she gave fighter A, she gave them to him easily and the six rounds she gave fighter B, they were really close rounds. That’s pretty much how it was last night.”
At the risk of lapsing into conspiracy-mode, the timing of resignation is undeniably suspicious. The UFC just announced that Vitor Belfort vs. Chris Weidman was going to take place in Las Vegas, and Kizer was previously on record saying “I don’t see Vitor Belfort getting a TRT exemption from us.” However, that stance had recently changed. It’s hard to accept that this was Kizer’s decision alone.
In honor of his resignation, I thought it would be a good time to look back a few moments from Keith Kizer’s career that will define his legacy…
“Just because a judge’s scorecard ends up even, doesn’t mean the judge necessarily thought the fight as a whole was even,” Kizer said. “It could be that a judge has six rounds for each fighter, but the six rounds she gave fighter A, she gave them to him easily and the six rounds she gave fighter B, they were really close rounds. That’s pretty much how it was last night.”
While the points about the problem with the scoring system as generally valid, in that fight that wasn’t the case. Mayweather clearly won at least 10 rounds by a decent margin. This comment combined with his relentless defense of his employees (See: Mazzagatti, Steve) shows you the best and worst of Keith Kizer. On one hand he had a problem admitting when there was a problem. On the other hand he was loyal to his employees, and publicly protected them.
I would love to work for Kizer. No matter how many times I screwed up and was blasted by UFC commentator Joe Rogan, my hypothetical job would be safe.
After Lamont Peterson failed his VADA drug test for exogenous testosterone in May 2012, Kizer had this to say:
BoxingScene.com: If VADA was not involved, a lot of people have asked if this was something that the Nevada Commission would have caught in Peterson’s system?
Keith Kizer: Probably not from the facts that I know. His [testosterone] level, by his doctor, was kept under 4 to 1, which is the lowest level used… some use 4 to 1 and some use 6 to 1. Even VADA uses 4 to 1, but they also use this CIR [carbon isotope ratio] test to detect synthetic testosterone regardless of your level and that’s what happened here.
My understanding is that his level was 3.77 to 1… and I don’t know if that was a purposeful attempt to conceal [his use] by keeping it under 4 to 1 or not. That’s a question for someone else and not for me. But regardless, the CIR was able to catch it without the level being high.
Here Kizer is essentially admitting that the testing that Nevada does is insufficient, though not directly. He is saying that it is possible Peterson was manipulating his testosterone levels, and that Nevada wouldn’t have caught him. Had it not been for VADA, Peterson’s use of testosterone would have gone undetected.
The introduction of commission-led supplemental testing
The October 2013 fight between Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez was once in jeopardy due to a disagreement over which supplemental drug testing agency was going to be chosen to perform the drug testing for that fight. That issue was resolved when Top Rank CEO Bob Arum contacted Kizer to run random drug testing through NSAC.
In MMA this testing was proposed as an alternative solution for the GSP vs. Hendricks fight, although ultimately it was rejected. It was also used as a punitive measure against Josh Barnett, as a condition for him to get a license to fight, due to his past drug test failures.
To me, this testing was Kizer’s crowning achievement. Drug testing in combat sports is woefully inadequate. Subjecting fighters to more enhanced and random testing is a good thing. It may end up being the only truly worthwhile thing Kizer ever did in his position as executive director.
LAS VEGAS–Keith Kizer, who has served as the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission from the time of his appointment in 2006, has resigned his position and is moving into a role with the Nevada Attorney General’s office. The news was announced via an email received by Bleacher Report on Friday evening. Kizer […]
LAS VEGAS–Keith Kizer, who has served as the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission from the time of his appointment in 2006, has resigned his position and is moving into a role with the Nevada Attorney General’s office. The news was announced via an email received by Bleacher Report on Friday evening. Kizer […]
LAS VEGAS — Nostalgia was certainly in the air this week here in the fight capital of the world. The 20th anniversary of the Ultimate Fighting Championship meant a lot to the folks who work at Zuffa. They weren’t there in the early days, but they’ve nurtured the company and the sport as a whole […]
LAS VEGAS — Nostalgia was certainly in the air this week here in the fight capital of the world. The 20th anniversary of the Ultimate Fighting Championship meant a lot to the folks who work at Zuffa. They weren’t there in the early days, but they’ve nurtured the company and the sport as a whole […]
