Tag: USADA

Conor McGregor Reacts To Chad Mendes Failing Drug Test

Two-time featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes was handed a two-year ban by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), after testing positive for a prohibited substance known as GHRP-6 (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hexapeptide) stemming from an out-of-competition drug test. ‘Money’ had been riding a two-fight losing streak before his suspension, most recently being knocked out by Frankie Edgar

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Two-time featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes was handed a two-year ban by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), after testing positive for a prohibited substance known as GHRP-6 (Growth Hormone-Releasing Hexapeptide) stemming from an out-of-competition drug test.

‘Money’ had been riding a two-fight losing streak before his suspension, most recently being knocked out by Frankie Edgar at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Season Finale (TUF 22 Finale) in the first round of their 145-pound contest.

Prior to his loss to Edgar, Mendes shared the Octagon with current UFC featherweight king Conor McGregor, in the featured bout of UFC 189 for the interim featherweight title.

Mendes dominated the Irishman for the majority of the first and second rounds with his world-class wrestling ability, but ultimately fell victim to ‘Notorious” crushing power in the closing seconds of the second round.

‘Money’s’ defeat most likely came due to a mixture of fatigue after accepting the bout on two weeks notice, along with McGregor’s vicious attack of the Team Alpha Male product’s body.

Now amongst Mendes’ current USADA troubles McGregor, who is never one to shy away from words, pondered the possibility that Mendes was abusing a prohibited substance during their featherweight showdown.

“I wonder was he on that stuff when we fought. One thing I know for sure tho, you can’t put steroids on your chin,” McGregor said, courtesy of The MacLife.

While Mendes can’t see Octagon action until May 17th of 2018, McGregor currently has a date with Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 202 live on pay-per-view (PPV), from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 20, 2016.

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Cro Cop: USADA Offered Me Protection If I Snitched

Shortly after retiring following being slapped with a two-year suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), mixed martial arts (MMA) legend Mirko Cro Cop was reportedly offered protection from his two-year ban if he would ‘snitch on another fighter’. Ina Ferencic took to Twitter to break the story, stating Cro Cop revealed the news

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Shortly after retiring following being slapped with a two-year suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), mixed martial arts (MMA) legend Mirko Cro Cop was reportedly offered protection from his two-year ban if he would ‘snitch on another fighter’.

Ina Ferencic took to Twitter to break the story, stating Cro Cop revealed the news on Croatian RTL video interview:

Cro Cop (31-11-2(1)) was previously scheduled to face Anthony Hamilton at UFC Fight Night 79 last November, but was then flagged by USADA for the use of growth hormones to help nurse his injured shoulder.

ufc fight night 64

The Croatian is currently set to make an in-cage return at the Rizin Heavyweight Tournament in Japan beginning in September. Cro Cop has been given a first round by for the tournament and will be bracketed into the quarterfinals of the trials in December.

We’ll keep you updated as more becomes available…

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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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Ovince St-Preux: Hey Jon, When Did You Start Taking PEDs?

The ugly situation surrounding UFC interim light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones continues to rule headlines. Yesterday (July 18, 2016) it was confirmed that the former undisputed 205-pound boss and pound-for-pound king had indeed been flagged for estrogen blockers. ‘Bones’ once again argued his innocence once the news had broke, claiming ignorance about the contents of a supplement

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The ugly situation surrounding UFC interim light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones continues to rule headlines. Yesterday (July 18, 2016) it was confirmed that the former undisputed 205-pound boss and pound-for-pound king had indeed been flagged for estrogen blockers. ‘Bones’ once again argued his innocence once the news had broke, claiming ignorance about the contents of a supplement he’d been using.

After such a jaded past outside the octagon, Jones’ legacy within the realm of combat sports has come under question from many. Former opponent and rival Daniel Cormier has actually remained reasonably quiet on ‘Bones’ and his failed drug test. It’s been mostly a backlash from fighters and fans that Jones has been dealing with, and that includes his UFC 197 opponent Ovince St-Preux.

Jon Jones UFC 197

Jones defeated ‘OSP’ at UFC 197 when ‘DC’ pulled out of the rematch with an injury. The 33-year old fighting out of Knoxville, Tennessee put in a game performance on April 23, but proved to be no match as ‘Bones’ cruised to the unanimous decision. In the wake of the confirmation of PCT (post cycle therapy) substances being found in Jones’ system, St-Preux had some stern words for the troubled interim champ on Facebook:

“On June 18th, Jon Jones was caught taking Post Cycle Therapy (PCT) drugs. This means he was on some form of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDS) before this date. The only real questions are: When did he start taking them? Was it before his fight with me or after? There are not many people who can answer this question, but Jon Jones is one of them. So, I am asking: When did you start taking PEDS Jon? I wanted to fight the best fighter in the world, but I did not sign up to fight a cheater. So, be a stand-up person, tell us all the truth. We all know you were on PEDS because you got caught taking PCT drugs. Just tell the world the truth.”

JonJones_OSP

Another angle on this developing saga is that Jones team has grossly mismanaged him. Chael Sonnen recently exploded on his podcast, claiming Jones’ management had phoned to complain about ‘The American Gangster’s’ appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience. Sonnen had leaked that estrogen blockers were found in ‘Bones’ system a week ago Monday.

One her highly controversial comment came from Michael H DiSabato on Twitter. The former D1 wrestler once called out Jones for cocaine use months before he tested positive in 2014, taking to social media with the following rants:

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Daniel Cormier Says Rivalry With Jon Jones ‘Made Him Ugly’

The rivalry between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones has been going on for nearly two years now and the two were slated to finally rematch in the main event of July 9’s blockbuster UFC 200 from Las Vegas, Nevada. The rematch, however, never came to fruition, as “Bones” was pulled from the bout just days

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The rivalry between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones has been going on for nearly two years now and the two were slated to finally rematch in the main event of July 9’s blockbuster UFC 200 from Las Vegas, Nevada. The rematch, however, never came to fruition, as “Bones” was pulled from the bout just days prior after being notified by USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) of a potential anti-doping violation.

With Jones’ immediate future in the sport unclear, Cormier needs a break from the rivalry, as he claims that it has turned him into an ‘ugly’ person:

“I need a little break from him, because this rivalry has made me ugly,” Cormier said on The Jim Rome Show. “It makes me react and behave in ways that I don’t usually behave. I’m the guy that’s smiling and hanging out and having fun. I’m the guy that will sit and talk to people and try to make people feel good. That’s why when people say stuff like that, it’s because they know me on a level that’s much different than what you see when I’m around Jones. It really does make me into a different person. So I really do need a break from him.”

Jones’ run in with USADA is only the latest in a long list of troubles outside of the Octagon for the pound-for-pound great. In facts, it drives Cormier crazy to see an athlete as talented as Jones behave this way:

“It just drives me crazy. Again, this is a guy who has the world at his fingertips, and I’ve worked hard to get to where I am, and I’m sure he has too, but I try to not make mistakes to actually screw it up,” Cormier said. “A lot of times I watch professional athletes and think why are they intent on throwing this away when they have the ability to help so many people.”

In the aftermath of Jones’ fallout from UFC 200, former long-time middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva was called on to fight Cormier on extremely short notice in a bout many thought Cormier would batter Silva in. Although “DC” took home a dominant decision victory, the fans weren’t too impressed with his wrestling-heavy attack.

Cormier, however, admits that he was a bit star struck by Silva:

“All day Friday I’m telling myself I’m just going to smash him, I don’t care that its Anderson Silva, I’m just going to smash this dude. And when I looked across from him and he’s crouching, he’s in his Spider position.

“In that moment, I did kind of have that one moment where I went wow, that’s Anderson Silva,” Cormier said.

Who would you like to see Cormier defend his title against next?

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Confirmed: Jon Jones Tested Positive For Anti-Estrogen Substances

It’s been nearly two weeks since decorated former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones threw the MMA world into complete madness when he was forced out of his scheduled UFC 200 main event against arch nemesis Daniel Cormier due to a potential USADA violation from a June 28 test. The discussion has now shifted to

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It’s been nearly two weeks since decorated former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones threw the MMA world into complete madness when he was forced out of his scheduled UFC 200 main event against arch nemesis Daniel Cormier due to a potential USADA violation from a June 28 test.

The discussion has now shifted to just what will happen to the troubled but talented Jones, and that process got started at today’s (Mon., July 18, 2016) Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) hearing in Las Vegas.

First, it was confirmed by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that Jones had indeed tested positive for anti-estrogen substances as had been speculated by Chael Sonnen and Rashad Evans:

Then word came from FOX Sports’ Damon Martin that Jones would be temporarily suspended until a later hearing:

So the wheels of Jones’ final punishment are in motion, but obviously not anywhere close to stopping for good anytime soon. His team has claimed the standard go-to defense of a tainted supplement, something that UFC athletes Yoel Romero and Tim Means have actually gotten reduced suspensions for after violating the UFC’s new and increased doping policy, which obviously has some kinks still to be worked out.

But the onus is going to fall on Jones here, because at the very least he was responsible for not having a supplement checked for the dangerous red flag of having anti-estrogen substances in them somehow.

It’s simply the latest in a long line of highly-publicized and sad incidents in the saga of Jones, who could potentially face a two-year ban from USADA in the prime of his fighting career.

There’s also no telling how this may affect his probation, which he received for leaving the scene after hitting and fracturing the arm of a 25-year-old pregnant women in Albuquerque last year and was already jailed for violating earlier this year.

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