Tag: USADA

UFC Reportedly Has ‘Positive’ Conversation With Mark Hunt

Heavyweight fan favorite Mark Hunt drew the attention of the entire MMA universe yesterday (Mon., July 25, 2016) when he went off on the UFC in a profanity-laced tirade about Brock Lesnar’s in and out-of competition drug test failures before and after UFC 200. Dragging his employer’s name through the mud to The MMA Hour

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Heavyweight fan favorite Mark Hunt drew the attention of the entire MMA universe yesterday (Mon., July 25, 2016) when he went off on the UFC in a profanity-laced tirade about Brock Lesnar’s in and out-of competition drug test failures before and after UFC 200.

Dragging his employer’s name through the mud to The MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani, Hunt discussed a myriad of topics like organizing a fighter union, wanting half (and then all) of Lesnar’s record purse, and his considering legal action for the UFC’s willingness to have him fight an opponent who was on performance-enhancing drugs.

It’s easy to understand why “The Super Samoan” was upset, as steroids and PEDs have arguably been the hottest topic in the sport since USADA was enlisted to clean up fighting in 2015. There are obviously legitimate concerns for fighter safety and health with so many fighters now being proved to be on one substance or another, and the the fact that special circumstances were implemented to get Lesnar into the Octagon on short notice after Conor McGregor was pushed off of UFC 200 only make it worse.

Some felt Hunt would be fired for his outburst, but ESPN.com has reported that quite the opposite is the case:

“A UFC official told ESPN.com that Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky had “a lengthy conversation with Hunt” on Monday and that dialogue was “positive.”

According to the official, the conversation was to “address Hunt’s concerns with Lesnar’s potential anti-doping violation, as well as the results management process related to the case.”

In response to Hunt’s concerns regarding the time frame in which the UFC knew of Lesnar’s potential violation, the official adamantly denied any knowledge prior to July 9.”

That’s a bit of a vague description of the conversation and what exact issues were addressed, so even though the UFC denied any and all knowledge of Lesnar’s pending failure form the June 28 test beforehand, that isn’t going to change the fact that USADA needs to find out and inform the UFC of any pertinent results before an event takes place, not after the fact when a fighter was put in danger, pay-per-views were sold, and it just doesn’t matter.

Hunt did not respond to questions surrounding the reported talk with Novitzky, and it’s a difficult scenario to imagine that “The Super Samoan” – who’s fought three opponents found to have been on PEDs in recent years – has cooled down from his epic outburst of only yesterday.

Is there anything the promotion can do to make it right with their popular Australian slugger, or do they simply not care as Hunt suggests?

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Dana White Believes BJ Penn Could Have Been The Best

BJ Penn stands along side only one man in an elite class in mixed martial arts given that he’s only one of two fighters to have ever held a title in two different weight classes in the UFC. “The Prodigy” spent time as both the UFC lightweight champion and the UFC welterweight champion and produced

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BJ Penn stands along side only one man in an elite class in mixed martial arts given that he’s only one of two fighters to have ever held a title in two different weight classes in the UFC. “The Prodigy” spent time as both the UFC lightweight champion and the UFC welterweight champion and produced a legendary career in the process.

UFC President Dana White, however, feels as if Penn could’ve been better than he was. In fact, White recently labeled “The Prodigy” as an underachieving fighter, and added that Penn would likely agree with him:

“That’s a loaded question,” White chuckled when asked by TMZ to name an underachieving fighter. “Listen, there’s guys and girls that probably don’t reach their potential, because they don’t… BJ Penn.

“BJ Penn probably should have been one of the best ever, to ever live, to ever do it. But, BJ was so talented, you know. I just… I don’t know. I think BJ, in his own words, would go back and do things differently if he could.”

If this is indeed how the Hawaiian feels about his iconic career, he may be able to patch up some holes as he announced earlier this year that he would be making his return to competitive fighting under the tutelage of highly-touted trainer Greg Jackson. That return, however, has been postponed after Penn was notified by USADA (United States Ant-Doping Agency) for the use of medically-administered IV during a non-fight period. His punishment is currently unclear, but the 37-year-old had intentions to resume his career prior.

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Chael Sonnen Not Ruling Out UFC Return: I Have That Itch

A certain gangster from Oregon may be considering a return to the Octagon. Former multi-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen is a free man as of last week regarding the two year suspension he received from the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for multiple banned substances back in 2014. Speaking on today’s (July

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A certain gangster from Oregon may be considering a return to the Octagon.

Former multi-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen is a free man as of last week regarding the two year suspension he received from the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for multiple banned substances back in 2014. Speaking on today’s (July 25, 2016) edition of The MMA Hour, “The American Gangster” admitted that he once again has the ‘itch’ to fight again.

Sonnen didn’t necessarily commit to a return, however, saying that a few steps have to take place first, most notably saying that he must pass his drug test with USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency), the UFC’s third party testing organization:

“I definitely have that itch,” Sonnen told Helwani. “I fantasize about it. But it’s one step at a time. I’m not holding back from you. I’m not acting like my return is some kind of breaking news. I’d tell it to you right now. But I have to pass this first test, quite frankly. It’s still out there. I’ve gotta pass it. If I pass that, I’ll pass all of them. But I have to know that everything is out. Boom, step one down.”

If he does indeed pass that drug test, the former title challenger would need to get in shape and attempt to return to his old form, a form in which he claimed he dominated the 185-pound division in:

“Step two, get in shape, get ready to go — I’m there. I’m in shape, I’m ready to go. Step three, be the baddest dude in the world. C’mon, Ariel. C’mon, buddy. I dominated — this is just a fact. I dominated middleweight. There has never been a middleweight like me. The next closest guy is Anderson Silva. I’ve got two 10-8 rounds against Anderson Silva. That’s just the truth. I have no equal at middleweight.”

In the end, however, the main road block appears to be the USADA test. Sonnen, who has never denied taking any PEDs, admits that he may have taken some banned substances in his time away which is why he wants to make sure he’s clean before a potential return backfires on him:

“I took a bunch of stuff that you can’t take and I want to make sure [it’s out],” Sonnen said. “I thought that made sense. Like yeah, I don’t want to jump in this thing if it’s just all gonna blow up in my face. [USADA] laughed like what I was saying was crazy. No, that’s exactly what happened.”

Would you like to see “The American Gangster” give it one more go inside the Octagon?

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Report: Brock Lesnar & Jon Jones Will Not Face UFC Fines

UFC 200 took many hits of a wide variety in the lead up, on fight night and following the July 9 milestone event. After the rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz was taken off the main event, fans began to wonder what star power was left given the busy nature of the rest of

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UFC 200 took many hits of a wide variety in the lead up, on fight night and following the July 9 milestone event. After the rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz was taken off the main event, fans began to wonder what star power was left given the busy nature of the rest of the champions and talent in the months prior to UFC 200. In the bag was Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones part 2, so not too bad after all, but that fight would not come to fruition.

‘Bones’ was announced to have failed a USADA (United States Anti Doping Agency) drug screen dating back to June 16 of this year. Jeff Novitsky dropped the game changer just three days prior to the event, and suddenly the card was in real trouble. A slight buffer was provided when Anderson Silva replaced Jones against ‘DC,’ but still an immeasurable amount of damage had been done to the card, especially in the midst of the UFC’s sale becoming official.

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The woe and sorrow surrounding UFC 200 was far from blown over, as Brock Lesnar was later revealed to have also failed a USADA screen. His bust was announced after he’d trounced Mark Hunt for three rounds, leaving ‘The Super Samoan’ in a furious mood. The heavy hitting former K-1 champion would later declare he was starting a fighters union because of the scandalous events surrounding Lesnar’s UFC return. It was also later revealed that Lesnar had failed an in-competition test on the very day of UFC 200.

So what’s the score as far as the UFC are concerned? Arguably the two biggest stars of the card, both popped for estrogen blockers, and now face serious consequences from USADA. From the UFC though? Nothing, this coming from Marc Raimondi on Twitter:

Of course the Nevada State Athletic Commission and USADA will ultimately decide both fighter’s fates respectively, but the UFC not adding to their troubles will probably come as good news to Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar.

The big question is who will be next…

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Report: Jon Jones’ Brother Suspended From NFL For PED Use

The Jones family continues to take hits when it comes to the use of PED’s in sports. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is currently under investigation for his use of estrogen blockers prior to his highly-anticipated rematch with Daniel Cormier at UFC 200, but was pulled from the event just two days out by the

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The Jones family continues to take hits when it comes to the use of PED’s in sports.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is currently under investigation for his use of estrogen blockers prior to his highly-anticipated rematch with Daniel Cormier at UFC 200, but was pulled from the event just two days out by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after being flagged for the doping violation.

Now it appears Jones’ brother, a defensive lineman for the National Football League’s (NFL) Indianapolis Colts, Arthur Jones has been suspended by the NFL for violating the league’s PED policy. NFL Insider Ian Rapoport broke the news on Twitter:

Jones and his older brother Arthur are not the only professional athletes in the family, as their younger brother Chandler also plays in the NFL as a linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals.

Arthur Jones will miss the first four games of the 2016-17 season without pay, while his younger brother Jon is facing up to a two-year suspension from the UFC.

Stay with LowKick for the latest on the Jon Jones and his ongoing trials with USADA.

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USADA: Holly Holm Now The Most Tested Fighter

Holly Holm has had quite the busy year over the last 12 months. In November 2015, she scored the biggest victory of her storied career with a brutal head kick knockout of previously dominant UFC bantamweight champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. “The Preacher’s Daughter” then suffered a disappointing fifth round submission loss in her first title

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Holly Holm has had quite the busy year over the last 12 months. In November 2015, she scored the biggest victory of her storied career with a brutal head kick knockout of previously dominant UFC bantamweight champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. “The Preacher’s Daughter” then suffered a disappointing fifth round submission loss in her first title defense against Miesha Tate in a fight she was likely winning.

Holm is now just days away from headlining UFC on FOX 20 (July 23, 2016) against Valentina Shevchenko in what could be deemed a title eliminator. Aside from her fighting, however, the former champion has also been quite busy with USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency). Recently speaking during a media scrum (Via MMAWeekly), “The Preacher’s Daughter” claimed that she has been tested a whopping 14 times, making her the most tested fighter on the roster:

“I want to know I didn’t need help. I want to know that I did it on my own. Because If I knew that I needed the help, it would kind of be more of a mental thing, that I didn’t believe in myself and that’s what I needed to. So for me it’s never been something I thought to do. And, it also keeps stress off of me that I have to worry about when they show up at my doorstep for a drug test at 6 a.m., because Friday was number 14, by the way. Just within the last year. It’s the most. This was the first time only urine, but blood and urine always. They actually did a list of who had been tested the most and Conor and I were tied for the most before I was tested again.”

With some of the sport’s biggest stars popping for performance-enhancing-drugs in recent memory, it’s no surprise to see USADA ramp up their testing, but Holm doesn’t seem bothered, and she’s never failed a test to date.

Do you feel as if USADA has done a strong job since partnering with the UFC last summer?

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