The world of mixed martial arts was rocked when it was reported that Anderson Silva failed a pre-fight drug test for his match at UFC 183 against Nick Diaz. There have been many comments and questions in the hours since Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole reported the failed drug test, but Silva has finally broken his silence […]
The world of mixed martial arts was rocked when it was reported that Anderson Silva failed a pre-fight drug test for his match at UFC 183 against Nick Diaz. There have been many comments and questions in the hours since Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole reported the failed drug test, but Silva has finally broken his silence […]
In a rare show of solidarity, the MMA community nearly unilaterally told 2014 not to let the door bump its behind on the way out. It had not been a good dozen months for the sport, and we were eager for change. We’d hoped for better things from the new year, but so far it […]
In a rare show of solidarity, the MMA community nearly unilaterally told 2014 not to let the door bump its behind on the way out. It had not been a good dozen months for the sport, and we were eager for change. We’d hoped for better things from the new year, but so far it […]
Ronda Rousey always seems to crank up the intensity a bit when talking about Cris “Cyborg” Justino. Speaking on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani (NSFW language), the UFC women’s bantamweight champion dished on Cyborg, and the results were critical, as expected. “Cyborg is just a fraud and a cheat,” Rousey told Helwani. “I’ll do […]
Ronda Rousey always seems to crank up the intensity a bit when talking about Cris “Cyborg” Justino. Speaking on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani (NSFW language), the UFC women’s bantamweight champion dished on Cyborg, and the results were critical, as expected. “Cyborg is just a fraud and a cheat,” Rousey told Helwani. “I’ll do […]
Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le says he is “completely surprised” to hear he failed a post-fight drug test for human growth hormone (HGH), and he is calling into question the procedures used to test him. In a written statement sent to MMA Junkie, Le pleaded his innocence after the UFC handed down a one-year […]
Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le says he is “completely surprised” to hear he failed a post-fight drug test for human growth hormone (HGH), and he is calling into question the procedures used to test him. In a written statement sent to MMA Junkie, Le pleaded his innocence after the UFC handed down a one-year […]
The UFC announced this evening that middleweight Cung Le tested positive for HGH following his gruesome defeat at the hands of Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night 48 in Macau last month. This is especially hilarious because of how adamant Le was before the fight about how he wasn’t using PEDs; that photo of him looking like the Incredible damn Hulk (see above, right) was just the result of hard work and good lighting and clean living and more assorted bullshit. Cung Le is a liar, and he’ll be punished for it. Here’s the full statement from the UFC:
UFC middleweight Cung Le tested positive for an excess level of Human Growth Hormone in his system following his fight at UFC Fight Night in Macao, China on August 23. Due to his positive test result, Le was suspended by the UFC and notified that he violated the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy and Promotional Agreement with Zuffa, LLC. The UFC has a strict, consistent policy against the use of any illegal and/or performance-enhancing drugs, stimulants or masking agents by our athletes. Le will serve a nine-month suspension and, at its conclusion, will need to pass a drug test before competing in the UFC again.
The UFC announced this evening that middleweight Cung Le tested positive for HGH following his gruesome defeat at the hands of Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night 48 in Macau last month. This is especially hilarious because of how adamant Le was before the fight about how he wasn’t using PEDs; that photo of him looking like the Incredible damn Hulk (see above, right) was just the result of hard work and good lighting and clean living and more assorted bullshit. Cung Le is a liar, and he’ll be punished for it. Here’s the full statement from the UFC:
UFC middleweight Cung Le tested positive for an excess level of Human Growth Hormone in his system following his fight at UFC Fight Night in Macao, China on August 23. Due to his positive test result, Le was suspended by the UFC and notified that he violated the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy and Promotional Agreement with Zuffa, LLC. The UFC has a strict, consistent policy against the use of any illegal and/or performance-enhancing drugs, stimulants or masking agents by our athletes. Le will serve a nine-month suspension and, at its conclusion, will need to pass a drug test before competing in the UFC again.
I have three things to say about this…
1) As I wrote before the Bisping/Le fight, when it was announced that both fighters would be undergoing enhanced drug testing: “Of course, we probably won’t get the results of these tests until weeks after the fact, which does absolutely nothing to prevent potential cheaters from competing…if all these drug tests are timed so that big fights still get to proceed as scheduled, it doesn’t reflect well on the UFC’s priorities, or how serious they are about eradicating the PED epidemic.” Yep. Punishment clearly isn’t enough of a deterrent. The UFC needs to find a way to sift out the cheaters before they get into the cage.
2) Michael Bisping should earn an honorary spot in the UFC Hall of Fame for fighting the most confirmed drug users. I mean, good Lord: Chris Leben, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, and now Cung Le? And I’m not even including Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson, who became the subject of PED/drug-testing controversies after Bisping fought them.
3) Cung Le will be 43 years old when he comes back from his suspension. He couldn’t beat a upper-mid-level contender when he had chemical help, and he’ll be even worse off without his medicine. Dude, just retire.
Until now, UFC brass has claimed that the expense of such a program would be prohibitive, and the promotion has left much of the drug-testing responsibility in the hands of local athletic commissions, only supporting random testing on an occasional basis. But with the PED epidemic growing worse in MMA, the sport’s leading promotion will be making the financial investment necessary to combat the problem, and UFC officials hope to have the new drug-screening system in place by the end of the year. From the ESPN report:
According to UFC vice president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner, the promotion is in discussion with “four to five” independent drug-testing agencies and is hopeful to officially partner with one by the end of 2014.
The end goal is unannounced, year-round blood and urine tests on the UFC’s stable of approximately 500 athletes using an independent sample collector.
“We are meeting with different companies right now and we’re going to have out-of-competition testing,” Ratner told ESPN.com. “We’re not sure when it’s going to start, but we’re working on it right now.
“Unannounced blood and urine is going to happen, hopefully in the next three or four months. When you’re talking about 500 fighters, there are a lot of logistics. Having fighters in foreign countries makes it tougher, but we’re coming up with a plan and (agencies) are making proposals to us in the next two weeks”…
(Until now, the UFC has mainly relied on the “screenshot comparison” method.)
Until now, UFC brass has claimed that the expense of such a program would be prohibitive, and the promotion has left much of the drug-testing responsibility in the hands of local athletic commissions, only supporting random testing on an occasional basis. But with the PED epidemic growing worse in MMA, the sport’s leading promotion will be making the financial investment necessary to combat the problem, and UFC officials hope to have the new drug-screening system in place by the end of the year. From the ESPN report:
According to UFC vice president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner, the promotion is in discussion with “four to five” independent drug-testing agencies and is hopeful to officially partner with one by the end of 2014.
The end goal is unannounced, year-round blood and urine tests on the UFC’s stable of approximately 500 athletes using an independent sample collector.
“We are meeting with different companies right now and we’re going to have out-of-competition testing,” Ratner told ESPN.com. “We’re not sure when it’s going to start, but we’re working on it right now.
“Unannounced blood and urine is going to happen, hopefully in the next three or four months. When you’re talking about 500 fighters, there are a lot of logistics. Having fighters in foreign countries makes it tougher, but we’re coming up with a plan and (agencies) are making proposals to us in the next two weeks”…
The UFC has worked with several commissions this year to implement an “enhanced program,” which blood-tests athletes during the weeks before a fight, as opposed to traditional fight night urine tests. The cost of one of those programs can be in excess of $40,000. The majority of state athletic commissions simply can’t afford those costs…
Partnering with an independent party, such as the United States Anti-Doping Agency or the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, for example, could help lower costs for the UFC. Ratner declined to provide specifics of the proposed program, citing ongoing internal discussions.
“The UFC will be randomly testing a percentage of fighters,” Ratner said. “When we decide on this regiment, it’s going to be a big cost but it’s well worth it when we do these out-of-competition tests.”
The reason an enhanced program is necessary is that certain banned substances are only detectable in blood and only for a short amount of time. Random blood testing is far more effective than the urine tests athletes expect to take the night of a fight…
The UFC has expressed its commitment in lowering PED use by funding the enhanced programs in Nevada, Maryland and British Columbia. Additionally, Ratner says all incoming athletes are tested before signing a contract with the UFC. Last weekend in Macau, China, the UFC implemented blood testing for the first time at a self-regulated event. Still, the need for comprehensive, year-round random blood tests is undeniable in MMA.
Inside the UFC specifically, that need has drawn plenty of attention in 2014.
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones requested random blood tests ahead of a title defense against Glover Teixeira in Baltimore. Former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has stated he will not compete in the UFC again unless he and his opponent are tested by a “credible, independent anti-doping organization.”
Starting with Nevada’s banning of TRT exceptions back in February, 2014 has been an incredibly productive year for anti-PED measures in MMA. Random, enhanced testing for all UFC fighters will mark another significant step toward cleaning up the sport. Of course, to really give the new policy some teeth, cheaters will have to be caught early enough to actually prevent them from competing; punishing them after the fact doesn’t do much to fix the problem of juiced-up fighters in the Octagon.
Nevertheless, it’s good to see the UFC put some effort into fighting the sport’s drug problem. Thumbs up, guys.
