Tag: PEDs in MMA

Jeff Novitzky: I Don’t Take Any Pleasure In USADA’s Success

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the UFC’s third-party testing organization, has undoubtedly made an impact on the sport, as we’ve seen some of promotion’s biggest stars get popped for banned substances over the last year or so. Despite the ‘success’, if you consider it a success, of the testing so far, USADA will only […]

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The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the UFC’s third-party testing organization, has undoubtedly made an impact on the sport, as we’ve seen some of promotion’s biggest stars get popped for banned substances over the last year or so. Despite the ‘success’, if you consider it a success, of the testing so far, USADA will only begin to ramp up testing as the year closes.

Recently speaking with MMAFighting.com, UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky said that USADA will test nearly 700 fighters in the third quarter of 2016 when the program will be fully implemented:

“We’re very happy with where the program is, considering we started from scratch,” said Novitzky, who gave a presentation on anti-doping and weight management at the ABC Conference. “I’m amazed the progress that we’ve had getting this off the ground. This will be the first quarter — the third quarter of 2016 — where we have a fully implemented program.”

While cleaning up the sport and creating a stricter drug testing program was the ultimate goal when the UFC partnered with USADA, Novitzky admits that he doesn’t necessarily get pleasure out of a fighter getting caught, although he does admit that fighters getting busted should open up the eyes of the rest of the roster:

“Let me be clear: Just because this is my program, those days and those occurrences are challenging,” he said. “I never want to see that happen. I don’t take any pleasure that the program is working, seeing that happen. Sometimes one or two of those needs to happen for everybody to open their eyes. If anybody had any reservations about the seriousness, about the independence of the program, that it doesn’t matter if you’re the first on the depth chart of the roster or the last you’re going to be treated the same under this program.”

What do you make of the USADA era thus far?

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Six Biggest USADA Busts In The UFC So Far

Attempting to rid the sport of performance-enhancing-drugs (PEDs), the UFC signed a deal with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) last summer to implement a new and stricter drug testing program. When the partnership was first announced, now former UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta famously stated that “it’s going to get a lot worse before it

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Attempting to rid the sport of performance-enhancing-drugs (PEDs), the UFC signed a deal with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) last summer to implement a new and stricter drug testing program. When the partnership was first announced, now former UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta famously stated that “it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.” Perhaps he was right, as we’ve seen our fair share of fighters popped by USADA in recent memory.

In fact, we’ve seen two of the sport’s biggest stars notified of potential anti-doping violations in just the last few weeks alone. With that being said, it’s interesting to take a look back at USADA’s short history working with the UFC.

Whether it be the most shocking or the most impactful, let’s take a look at the six biggest busts by USADA in the UFC:

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UFC Releases Official Statement On Brock Lesnar’s Potential USADA Violation

Earlier this evening (July 15, 2016), it was announced that the UFC had been notified by USADA of a potential anti-doping violation regarding Brock Lesnar stemming from a sample collected on June 28, 2016 prior to Lesnar’s co-main event victory over Mark Hunt at July 9’s UFC 200 from Las Vegas, Nevada. The news is

The post UFC Releases Official Statement On Brock Lesnar’s Potential USADA Violation appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Earlier this evening (July 15, 2016), it was announced that the UFC had been notified by USADA of a potential anti-doping violation regarding Brock Lesnar stemming from a sample collected on June 28, 2016 prior to Lesnar’s co-main event victory over Mark Hunt at July 9’s UFC 200 from Las Vegas, Nevada.

The news is still quite fresh with few details being released, but the UFC has released an official statement regarding the manner. Check it out below via UFC.com:

“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Brock Lesnar of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 28, 2016. USADA received the testing results from the June 28, 2016 sample collection from the WADA-accredited UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory on the evening of July 14, 2016.

“USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. The Nevada State Athletic Commission also retains jurisdiction over this matter as the sample collection was performed in close proximity to Lesnar’s bout at UFC 200 in Las Vegas.

“Consistent with all previous potential anti-doping violations, additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”

What do you make of this breaking news regarding the former UFC heavyweight champion?

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BREAKING: Brock Lesnar Flagged By USADA For Potential Anti-Doping Violation

When Brock Lesnar announced that he would be making his highly-anticipated return to fighting at July 9’s UFC 200 card in Las Vegas, Nevada, many had speculated on how he would be handled by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Typically when a fighter comes out of retirement, he must be entered into the USADA testing

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When Brock Lesnar announced that he would be making his highly-anticipated return to fighting at July 9’s UFC 200 card in Las Vegas, Nevada, many had speculated on how he would be handled by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Typically when a fighter comes out of retirement, he must be entered into the USADA testing pool four months prior to competing.

Given that Lesnar had announced his return just weeks before the landmark event, however, he was granted an exception to that rule by the UFC. Lesnar has also been questioned regarding performance-enhancing-drugs (PEDs) due to his freakish physique, but he had never tested positive for any type of steroid – that is until now.

According to a report from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, “The Beast” has been flagged by USADA for a potential anti-doping violation stemming from a test administered on June 28, 2016:

USADA had claimed that they had intensely tested Lesnar leading up to UFC 200, and it appears as if they have found something. This marks the second massive ‘bust’ by USADA regarding UFC 200, as scheduled headliner Jon Jones was pulled from the card just days prior after being notified of a potential anti-doping violation as well.

Stay tuned to LowKickMMA.com as more news unfolds regarding this matter.

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Quote: ‘Safe Level’ Of PEDs Should Be Allowed in MMA

We have seen an increased amount of performance-enhancing-drug (PED) violations in the UFC since the arrival of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), who has vowed to clean up the sport. The latest USADA flagging was a shocking one, as pound-for-pound king Jon Jones was recently pulled from his scheduled UFC 200 headliner just days

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We have seen an increased amount of performance-enhancing-drug (PED) violations in the UFC since the arrival of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), who has vowed to clean up the sport. The latest USADA flagging was a shocking one, as pound-for-pound king Jon Jones was recently pulled from his scheduled UFC 200 headliner just days prior due to a possible anti-doping violation.

UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock has an interesting view on the PED issue in MMA. “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” actually feels as if PEDs should be regulated and allowed on a ‘safe level’:

“Listen I think it’s pretty clear. I’ve taken a stance on it. My stance has always been upfront that this needs to be regulated. It needs to be a point where guys can use it at a safe level, because it does help. It does help in your health, and it does help in your recovery.” Shamrock said on Inside MMA.

Continuing on, Shamrock, who has tested positive for PEDs before, also implied that the UFC has allowed performance-enhancing-drug use for years:

“I just don’t see how they’re gonna stop something that they’ve allowed to happen for so long. I think my biggest anger with this is that it seems like everybody wants you to believe that their heads were stuck in the sand when all this was going on and then when something like this happens, their heads pop up out of the sand and they go, ‘Oh my gosh I can’t believe that happened! How dare you! You’re such a bad person! I’m so angry at you!’ And the reality of it is that everybody knows it’s going on in almost every sport across the United States.”

What do you make of Shamrock’s view on the matter?

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UFC Veteran: PED Users Look Like Women That Gave Birth

UFC veteran Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal will return to action in Las Vegas at tonight’s (May 29, 2016) UFC Fight Night 88 card from the Mandalay Bay Events Center as he takes on the always tough Lorenz Larkin. Leading up to his highly-anticipated bout, Masvidal spoke up on the use of performance-enhancing-drugs (PEDs) in the sport

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UFC veteran Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal will return to action in Las Vegas at tonight’s (May 29, 2016) UFC Fight Night 88 card from the Mandalay Bay Events Center as he takes on the always tough Lorenz Larkin.

Leading up to his highly-anticipated bout, Masvidal spoke up on the use of performance-enhancing-drugs (PEDs) in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), claiming that a plethora of steroid users were seriously affected by the UFC signing on with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA):

“This is gonna hurt a lot of people’s feelings, but I like to say the truth, so let the truth be told,” said Masvidal in a recent appearance on The Three Amigos podcast (transcribed by Bloody Elbow). “I don’t do steroids. I didn’t do steroids when I was first in this sport, and I don’t do them now. That’s a big reason why I’m still getting better. A lot of these guys that were on the steroids and the PEDs…when USADA came in, these guys were running out the door trying to dodge the test. That wasn’t me.”

Not only does Masvidal insist that he’s never taken PEDs, but he had a rather strange opinion on those who have taken PEDs and are now attempting to ween off of them, comparing them to ‘women that gave birth’:

“A lot of these motherf*ckers can’t do those things that were getting them over the top and getting them the big paychecks and all these endorsements from supplement companies anymore,” added Masvidal. “Now you look at their bodies, they look like women that gave birth, you know? These dudes are supposed to be pro athletes, and you look at them now when they compete, and you’re like, “What the f*ck happened to so-and-so?” You look back at them six months ago, before USADA came in the building, this dude looked like a juggernaut. Now he don’t. I’m so thankful I never messed with that stuff.”

In closing, Masvidal praised the new and improved stricter drug testing, saying that fighters who felt invincible are no longer on top without the use of PEDs:

“I’ve had injuries in the past, but it hasn’t been those crazy-ass injuries that you hear about because people were juiced out of their minds doing things that they’re not supposed to,” said Masvidal. “A lot of those dudes that were in PRIDE, over there in Japan doing that craziness, when they came over here, you didn’t see them shining like that anymore, because it was somewhat regulated over here. They would test here and there, but now with USADA, everything changed. Motherf*ckers that thought that they were invincible, they’re finding out real quick that they’re far from it.”

What do you make of “Gamebred’s” remarks?

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