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Michael Bisping: No Coincidence I’m Champion After USADA

Following the UFC’s implication of the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) strict drug testing policy in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), fighters have been dropping like flies to the agency’s strict testing criteria. UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is never one to shy away from words, and it wasn’t any different in his recent

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UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is never one to shy away from words, and it wasn’t any different in his recent piece for Champions.co regarding the new drug testing polices.

The 185-pound champ ‘The Count’ doesn’t believe that it’s a coincidence that he finally won the first title in his decade-long UFC career, by knocking out then-champion Luke Rockhold in the first round of the main event of UFC 199 this past June, after the UFC decided to get in bed with USADA in 2015:

michael-bisping-luke-rockhold-ufc_3478573

Michael Bisping knocked out Luke Rockhold in one round at UFC 199

“The only thing that I know is that I am not on steroids. You can bet whatever you want to bet. I’ll say that on my children’s lives, on my wife’s life, on my mother’s life…anything you want. I can say with all the integrity and honesty in the world, and I’ll still be able to look you in the eye and sleep at night, I do not take performance enhancing drugs.

Anybody else, I don’t know about. It’s not my business, but since USADA has come in, I am now the champion. You do the math on that one and let me know what you come up with. I don’t really want to kick people when they’re down, because the people that have failed their drug tests have probably punished themselves plenty. I can only imagine the UFC’s frustration.

With so many of the top dogs out, maybe I can get three fights in each year. Two fights is never enough, in my opinion, but I am fortunate that this year, I’m getting those coveted three fights. It’ll be the first time in a while that it’s happened.

Bisping will make his first title defense against old rival Dan Henderson at UFC 204

I’m happy and I feel a sense of pride in that I’m a relatively old school UFC fighter. I’m no Matt Hughes or Chuck Liddell, but I’ve been on the roster for over a decade, and I’m proud of that. I was on The Ultimate Fighter 3, not 30, you know what I’m saying? It’s nice to be one of the older guys, the longer tenured guys and I have the belt on top of it all.

You know what the best part is? I’ve been here all this time, and I’ve never tested positive for anything other than hard work and dedication. I take a lot of pride in that, and I look forward to the rest of my career knowing that I’ve accomplished all this on my own terms, without the benefit of external drugs. In this day and age, that’s quite an achievement.”

Bisping will defend his middleweight title against Dan Henderson in the main event of UFC 204 live on pay-per-view (PPV), from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England on October 8, 2016.

You can read Bisping’s full article here.

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Georges St. Pierre: I’ll Beat Nick Diaz Even Worse Next Time

With news arriving today that former UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre was beginning the USADA testing process, the MMA world is expectedly taking that as one of the more clear-cut signs GSP is returning since he left the sport behind in 2013. And with the announcement, speculation about just whom St. Pierre could meet in his return

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With news arriving today that former UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre was beginning the USADA testing process, the MMA world is expectedly taking that as one of the more clear-cut signs GSP is returning since he left the sport behind in 2013.

And with the announcement, speculation about just whom St. Pierre could meet in his return is about to reach an all-time high.

There’s a possible welterweight title bout with new champion Tyron Woodley, who called St. Pierre out for the UFC’s New York debut at UFC 205 from Madison Square Garden this November, but in a revealing recent interview with Bloody Elbow, St. Pierre said he might actually be re-matching the other man Woodley called out after winning the belt, returning bad boy Nick Diaz:

“I have no problem with Nate. It seems to me to me like it’s Nick Diaz that is running for another shot at me. I wouldn’t mind, I’m not afraid of Nick Diaz, I’ll tell you. I am telling you right now: If it’s what the fans want to see, I’m in.”

Asked if Diaz would then be his first fight back due to the lengthy history between them, St. Pierre proclaimed he didn’t care. After beating the Stockton MMA pioneer, who only just got reinstated from his latest marijuana-related suspension for a controversial drug test failure during his UFC 183 loss to Anderson Silva, so easily at 2013’s UFC 158, St. Pierre described a bad taste left in his mouth because he knows he could do better:

“I don’t care if it’s the first, or second, or third. If they want me to fight Nick Diaz it would be my pleasure. I don’t mind, I am not afraid of Nick Diaz, I beat him last time, and I’ll beat even worse, I’ll beat him way worse next time that I’ll fight him.

“I beat him last time easily, but I was not happy – it’s one of these fights that I’m not happy with. Because I didn’t feel like I gave enough, for different reasons. It left me angry that fight, when I look back at it – maybe I won, but for some reason it left me angry and I feel like I could have done so much better.”

There’s no question St. Pierre vs. Diaz II is another fight fans would want to see run back, even if the first bout ended in extremely one-sided fashion for GSP. There are legitimate question marks about where both fighters are after their respective periods of inactivity, but there are no questions about the top-level drawing power of both men.

St. Pierre knows that, and he wants to put on the best fight possible for the fans. He also knows that he can still take on the best fighters in the world, and after a lengthy hiatus away from the daily grind of MMA, he claims to be in the best shape ever – both mentally and physically.

That’s why he’s nearly ready to showcase his skills in an effort to leave everything in the Octagon and have no regrets:

“Yeah that’s why I’m doing it. I don’t want things that I regret in life, and things that I have not done – and I don’t want to at 80 years wake up, and tell myself: ‘Oh I was on top of my shape and skills and I didn’t do it.’ If I come back and I lose, at least I know I did everything I should have done, I have no regrets, I’ll be happy. I can die happy. If I never come back, and I’ll tell myself I should have done this, I should have done that – I don’t want to have regrets.”

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Georges St. Pierre Enters USADA Testing Protocol

It’s been almost three years since we’ve seen all-time great former welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre step into the Octagon. The legendary record-holder left the grueling grind of MMA behind after a highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, vacating the belt due to personal reasons. He’s done little more than

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It’s been almost three years since we’ve seen all-time great former welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre step into the Octagon.

The legendary record-holder left the grueling grind of MMA behind after a highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, vacating the belt due to personal reasons. He’s done little more than merely tease his potential return in the time since, but recently there have been noteworthy signs he would finally lace up the four ounce gloves yet again.

Citing a need to get his Under Armor sponsorship deal in accord with the UFC’s own apparel agreement with Reebok, St. Pierre told Ariel Helwani that a return was all but imminent on a recent episode of “The MMA Hour.” There are also the concerns over the promotion’s uncertain future under new ownership group WME-IMG, who purchased the UFC for $4 billion only days after the supposed blockbuster UFC 200.

A third aspect of St. Pierre’s return, the overarching use of performance-enhancing drugs in fighting, was also at the forefront of his semi-retirement and whether it would become official or not. In the last year, the UFC has implemented new and stringent drug-testing in conjunction with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that is catching fighters using banned substances of many kinds at an alarming pace.

So it seems the champ is slowly but surely overcoming the obstacles to his official return. A clear example of that is the fact that GSP revealed that he has kickstarted his return by beginning the process of entering into the USADA testing pool in an interview with Bloody Elbow:

“I want to. My agent is negotiating with the UFC, they had an offer, we made a counteroffer, you know that’s how business goes. And then we heard a day after that UFC sold for $4 billion dollars. So we waited for a few days, to see what was going on, because even some of the employees were afraid of losing their job – even some of the high ranking people in the UFC were afraid. We wanted to let the management to take care of their own company first, and then see what happens.

“Now we’re talking again and I’m starting the USADA process to be tested, I’m starting it Aug 10. in Las Vegas. Because to be eligible to fight you need to be tested.”

GSP was questioned about the controversial exemption Brock Lesnar was given when he returned to the UFC to face Mark Hunt in the co-main event of UFC 200, where he ultimately won but failed two drug tests (both in and out-of competition) for the estrogen blocker clomiphene. Because of his strong anti-PED stance, St. Pierre said he didn’t want to cut any corners as Lesnar did:

“Yeah exactly, but he had a free pass, I think it was an exemption of a month or something like that. But me, I don’t want to be an exception, because I was very outspoken about Performance Enhancing Drugs. It would be bad for my reputation if I would have an exemption – I don’t want to have a free pass, I want to be like everybody else. That’s why I’ll be starting the process Aug 10. I don’t have any fight yet, but it’s gonna happen now, because I’m getting tested, if I’m getting tested it’s for a reason.”

Several high-profile fights have been teased for GSP, from a middleweight title bout with Michael Bisping to a welterweight title fight with Tyron Woodley. Nothing is official as of yet, and while St. Pierre stated he does want to return, he also had to focus on the much-discussed topic of fighter treatment and pay in the UFC from the top down:

“Yeah. I would like to say, they need to make sure they take care and negotiate the problems. You know, I have a very good agent with me. The fighters, they complain they’re not getting paid a lot, they get exploited sometimes; The UFC runs a business, but it’s also the fault of a lot of the fighters – they accept any fight, they will sign anything. They have to look at their career as a business as well. They have to hire some confident people to do that job.

“I’m an athlete, my job is not negotiating, it’s not my field of expertise. I’m an emotional guy – it’s normal, a lot of athletes are, and we’re very susceptible to get our ego cut because of that. Dana White came out very often in public saying I’m this and that; I’m sure it’s also to play with my ego, to make me, for example, come out of retirement and say ‘Oh ok, I’ll fight for peanuts.’ No, I’m not like that. I know the game.

“That’s how it is, and I will never blame a fighter if he doesn’t fight me because he takes care of his own interest first, and prioritize the interests of his family first, that’s completely normal.”

Some strong words and opinion from the former champ, who seems to want a MMA return while simultaneously wanting to be a voice for fighters he feels have been treated poorly for all too long.

He could be just the voice they’re looking for.

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USADA: Helping Or Hurting The Sport Of MMA?

On June 3, 2015, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held a press conference in Las Vegas to announce they were partnering up with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in an attempt to clear MMA of anabolic steroid and performance enhancing drug (PED) abusers. UFC’s Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky called USADA’s testing

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UFC’s Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky called USADA’s testing policy “the best anti-doping program in all of professional sports,” and as we’ve found out in the past year of results, that couldn’t be closer to the truth.

USADA currently controls the testing for the U.S. Olympic, Paralympic, Pan-American and Para-Pan American sports teams. The organization is also credited for winning a lawsuit filed by famed cyclist Lance Armstrong, whom USADA hit with an anti-doping violation after he had already been retired.

USADA guidelines specify substances such as anabolic steroids, growth hormones, peptides, blood doping drugs and methods as ‘Non-specified Substances’, and punishment for the use of any of the above described are as follows:

1st offense: 2 years (with possibility of 4 years for “aggravating circumstances”)
2nd offense: Double the sanction for the 1st offense
3rd offense: Double the sanction for the 2nd offense

Specified substances such as marijuana, cocaine, other stimulants and glucocorticosteroids could see an athlete sidelined as follows:

1st offense: 1 years (with possibility of 2 additional years for “aggravating circumstances”)
2nd offense: Double the sanction for the 1st offense
3rd offense: Double the sanction for the 2nd offense

Just how extensive is the new USADA drug testing policy? Well current UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor posted the following video documenting his most recent USADA test:

At first glance, the decision by the UFC to implement such a powerful testing process for it’s fighters is an admirable one, but are the strict guidelines of USADA harming the relatively young sport of mixed martial arts (MMA)?

Since the partnership between the UFC and USADA’s inception, fighters have been dropping like flies. While some names we expected to be heard where in fact called out, there where also some that took MMA fans by surprise.

Fighters such as Jon Jones, BJ Penn, Yoel Romero, Diego Brandao, Mirko Cro Cop, Frank Mir, Lyoto Machida, Chad Mendes, and Brock Lesnar have all been flagged for violations under the harsh USADA microscope.

While some of these violations stem from the use of substances such as Ibutamoren, HGH, and Turinabol, there are some head scratchers when it comes to the drug testing of USADA.

The use of IVs, for example, is now frowned upon according to USADA regulations, leaving some fighters upset given it is how most rehydrate following the dreaded weight cut typically performed prior to a bout.

anderson silva's ufc 183 win — Anderson Silva had finally found someone who could clown to an equal degree, that’s about the only positive that came from UFC 183, unless you count the drug test results…

Another questionable offense that has arisen is the ‘tainted supplement’ defense, in which a fighter takes a supplement that turns out to be tainted with a substance on USADA’s banned list causing them to be flagged, and thus removed from their scheduled contest.

One current case that similarly echoes these circumstances is that of Jones, who was removed from his highly anticipated UFC 200 headliner with hated rival Daniel Cormier just two days out from the event. An emotional Jones held a press conference claiming his innocence, unsuccessfully fighting the urge to hold back tears.

Amongst Jones’ ongoing USADA trials, it has now left many to question whether or not ‘Bones’ has been clean his whole career, putting a tarnish in the great legacy the former 205-pound king created for himself.

UFC 200 had its fair share of ups and downs this past July, as the co-headlining bout between Brock Lesnar and Mark Hunt managed to remain intact come fight night; however, trouble began to brew for the former heavyweight champion Lesnar shortly following the event’s conclusion.

USADA would announce that yet another UFC box office attraction could potentially be shelved, as ‘The Beast’ tested positive for a banned substance as well. Lesnar, who currently works for the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), made his MMA return after nearly five years away from the sport to successfully defeat the then No. 8-ranked Hunt, and now could possibly be staring at a two-year suspension from the Octagon.

In the words of former UFC co-owner Lorenzo Feritta , ‘It’s going to get worst before it get’s better,’ and that statement continues to be proven more and more true as time progresses.

At the end of the day, MMA fans must ask themselves if the UFC getting in bed with USADA was the best thing for the sport. Of course the safety of the fighters is of great importance; however, in a sport where two men put their bodies through insanely rigorous training only to beat each other to submission inside the Octagon, should the regulated use of PED’s be something worth considering? Would a level playing field even be a possibility?

We’ve seen huge draws from the sport such as Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar fall victim to USADA’s testing criteria, and have seen legacies and massively important cards such as UFC 200 fall to the agency as well. They obviously broke the rules, and using PEDs in a sport where violence is the main focus is obviously walking a thin line. They should have known better, and were and will be punished accordingly for their actions.

However, perhaps a more realistic medium could be reached. That’s not to say all MMA athletes should be allowed to use steroids and other PEDs. The ill-fated TRT experiment was definitely a mess, but a better system could possibly be implemented with the more stringent checks and balances USADA has put into place.

What are your thoughts? Is USADA ruining the sport with its stringent testing criteria, or will the reward be worth the wait when it’s all said and done?

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Coach: Only One Man Can Beat Jon Jones

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is considered by many to be the greatest fighter of all-time, and without question to be the greatest 205 pounder of all-time, although trouble outside of the cage has hindered his professional fighting career. The latest incident regarding Jones occurred when he was pulled from his massive rematch

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A possible punishment for Jones or a solution to the issue has yet to be announced, but the former pound-for-pound king could be facing a two year suspension. Jones’ longtime striking coach, Mike Winkeljohn, doesn’t appear to be too worried, however, saying that there’s only one man who could beat “Bones”:

“Oh no. You know what, assuming he doesn’t get distracted on time off – and what we’re talking about is just hypothetical,” Winkeljohn said on an edition of Submission Radio when asked if two years away could leave Jones less competitive. “I don’t know how much time off, so I’m not sure if I should even worry about that at the moment. I’ve always said no one beats Jon Jones but himself. That’s it. And he’s got many, many years to keep going and figure this out if he’s got the opportunity to and if it turns out that he’s able to.”

This may be a fair statement given the fact that Jones is currently 22-1 in his professional mixed martial arts career with his only loss coming by way of disqualification in a bout he was clearly winning. The former champion has run through a murderer’s row of 205-pound contenders while rarely getting challenged. With that being said, Winkeljohn feels as if Jones beat himself regarding the UFC 200 debacle, saying that he and his management must be aware of what goes into his body:

“Oh I was pissed off at that situation in that he’s gotta be careful.” Winkeljohn said about Jones getting pulled from UFC 200. “We’ve gotta be careful. Everyone’s gotta be careful. Everything you put in your body, no matter who gives it to you, you can’t just take whatever, because you never know what’s in there, what it’s tainted with, what’s going to come up on a drug test. And I don’t think he would have done anything out of the ordinary to try to do a performance enhancer type situation, but what’s going on is apparently something’s tainted and hopefully that’s what’s going to come out here soon and then hopefully all this bad talk about Jon Jones will start going away and we’ll get him back to fighting.”

“I think it’s both,” he continued, talking about whether it’s on Jones or his management to check his supplements. “You know, I think it’s both. There’s no doubt about it and he’s learned – I think he’s learned that he’s gotta pay attention to these things and his management has learned that they gotta help him pay attention to those things. So everybody is getting on board and paying attention a little bit more, because these tests are popping up and it seems to be happening quite often that people are taking something that was made by a company that has some illegal stuff, and maybe they’re using the same machines to pack it. I’m not sure how it happens, but trace amounts are coming up. So with that being said, people just have to be really careful and just go back to eating normal diets and don’t take anything else but vegetables and meats and good food.”

Do you expect to see Jones back in the Octagon any time soon?

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Mirko Cro Cop On USADA Suspension: ‘I Did Nothing Wrong’

Shortly after admitting to the use of growth hormone this past November, Mirko Cro Cop was slapped with a two-year suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), and the heavyweight legend is not happy with the agency’s decision. During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour yesterday (August 8, 2016), courtesy

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During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour yesterday (August 8, 2016), courtesy of MMA Fighting, Cro Cop does not think it is fair that he gets the same suspension as those who actually tested positive for banned substances:

“The whole thing that happened with USADA, it just isn’t supposed to happen,” Cro Cop said. “It just isn’t supposed to happen. I could be warned. I could be, at the end of the day, suspended a few months.

Six months, whatever. But when your test comes completely negative and you suspend that person for two years, the same sentence like some other fighters who was caught after the fight, so they did the fight under doping, under prohibited substances that was found in their body.

And they get the same suspension? That isn’t justice.”

Although Cro Cop’s test results came back negative, USADA deemed the Croatian’s admission enough to put him on the shelf for two years, the same time frame that looms over former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar amongst his recent USADA troubles post-UFC 200.

The Pride FC veteran does not believe it is fair that he would receive the same amount of time suspended as Lesnar, who was able to fight at UFC 200, despite not testing positive for any banned substances:

“They were caught after the fight,” Cro Cop said. “So they put the money in their pocket, they fought, they earned the money and they get the same sentence like I did.

It’s not fair. But let’s not talk about it anymore. I just had to mention it. From my point of view, that is not justice.”

Shortly after his suspension, however, Cro Cop revealed that USADA offered to reduce his suspension if he helped reveal other fighters who used performance enhancing drugs, something the former K-1 champion says is ‘below every level’:

“Offering a fighter that the suspension will be reduced if I snitched on someone, it is below every level,” Cro Cop said. “That’s how I see it. If I’m guilty punish me, but don’t come with that kind of offer.

And if you punish me for being completely negative, which means i didn’t use any prohibited substance, you cannot give me the same punish [as others].

I did nothing wrong” Cro Cop said. “At the end of the day, who cares? It’s behind me. What happened happened. It’s behind me now.”

Cro Cop has since been released from the UFC, and will not be able to compete for the company until 2017. He is currently signed with Rizin Fighting Federation, and will compete in an openweight grand prix tournament in September.

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