The UFC announced details of its new drug policy at a press conference Wednesday. The United States Anti-Doping Agency will take the reins as a third-party administrator for the UFC policy.
The new rules will take effect July 1, 2015.
Among the new shift in policy is that contracted UFC fighters will be subject to year-round in-and out-of-competition drug testing which includes blood and urine testing regardless of where they are located and whether or not they are scheduled to fight or not.
Jeff Novitsky, Lawrence Epstein, Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White were at the press conference to announce the new policy. USADA was represented by Travis Tygart and former Olympian Edwin Moses.
USADA will take the lead on administering the testing of UFC fighters. The UFC will have no input on the testing process.
MMA Fighting provides a breakdown of the penalties (which were shown as slides at the press conference) which are defined by the WADA code.
Non-specified substances which include anabolic steroids, growth hormones, peptides, blood doping drugs and methods:
1st offense – 2 years (possibility of 4 years for “aggravating circumstances”)
2nd offense – Double the sanction for the 1st offense (possible of 8 years max)
3rd offense – Double the sanction for the 2nd offense (possible of 16 years max)
Specified substances which include marijuana, cocaine, other stimulants and glucocorticosteroids (tested for in-competition only):
1st offense – 1 year (with possibility of 3 total for “aggravating circumstances”)
2nd offense – Double the sanction for the 1st offense
3rd offense – Double the sanction for the 2nd offense
Novitsky, the UFC’s Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance indicated that the UFC is not a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code and is not subject to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to appeal any decision or finding by USADA. Novitsky did not indicate the UFC’s appellate process although you might assume that it is through the American Arbitration Association.
Payout Perspective:
The overarching question that many will ask is whether or not the new drug policy circumvents the independent contractor status of fighters. The key buzz words that would make anyone take notice is “unannounced” and “year-round” drug testing. The new policy would give Zuffa (and thereby USADA) the right to make fighters provide them of their whereabouts whether or not they have a fight schedule or not.
Certainly, there are several issues that still stand out regarding the implementation of the drug testing policy. The question of whether commissions and athletic regulatory bodies would uphold suspensions of UFC contracted fighters is an issue. What happens when there is a conflict of suspensions? How will the policy be enforced when the UFC goes overseas? Since it is not subject to CAS, what will an international appeals process look like? Also, would competing MMA organizations follow suit in implementation of drug testing policies?
Will any fighter seek to oppose this new policy? While the move is a step in the right direction to ensure the integrity of the sport, fighters appear to be giving up a lot of their privacy.
There is a lot to unbundle by July 1st.
The UFC cares way more about this than the fans :-/
Good to see the policy take form.
MMA continues its evolution.
Here is the problems I have with such a stance on PEDs. 1. This is a UFC policy that fighters in the UFC or those who have UFc aspiration will take serious. But the UFC gets their talent from smaller local and national shows. We know PED are effective. So how is clean future UFc fighters supposed to rise the MMA ranks when so many at that level are cheating? Very few clean fighters will be able to rise above other talent cheaters. What will happen is people will get to the UFC by using PEDs and then stop using and the UFC and the fans are left with a pig in a poke because the fighter, now clean, is not the fighter he appeared to be. This will have a drastic effect on the talent level of the UFC.
2. I think society needs to address its position on steroids. There is so many people using them in every day life. Sports has shown 1000 reasons to use them without any reason not to. The fear tactics are not true and not working. People are not understanding the stance against PEDs. So will are going to have a sport where the athletes are second rate compared to the steroided athletes in the general public. With the acceptance among the general public. A clean sport will become outdated and unrelateable. Baseball got the clean sport it wanted and now it is back to the pitching duel it was in the golden age. Now baseball is crying being no one wants to watch it anymore. This year there has been constant article about baseball being to slow, TV ratings suck, attendance sucks, wanting to change the rules to speed it up, lack of African Americans interest in the sport, etc. this wasn’t the case the 10-20 years McGwire to Bonds were crushing Homeruns. They cleans the sport of it’s excitement. MMA might do the same. How much cardio does a clean fighter have to go 5 rounds? What will the pace look like? Will there be less KO’s with smaller weaker, slower fighters? Be careful what you wish for!
When baseball players cheat, the side effects at worst are some inflated statistics. When MMA fighters use PEDs, the side effects can literally be fatal. I can only imagine the outcry also if someone failed a test after seriously injuring someone.
This is a good thing by the UFC, however it will do little to stop ped’s in the sport. Fighters will find ways around it, like they do now, and some will continue to get caught. Ped;s are in every single pro sport like it or not. We will see a drop off of use at first and then they will figure out ways to beat the test. Seriously folks there are athletes beating teats every day that are dirty!
I disagree D! The dangers in this sport are already there. I do not believe anyone being on PE’s adds any more danger. Clean or enhanced both can pick a man up and slam him and both can knock someone out. A knock out protects the bodybrain from taking more than it can handle and with refs to prevent further damage. A couple roided strikes are not going to be a difference between life or death.
Also when you consider everyone would be using there wouldn’t be any significant difference between fighters. The only real result is fighters can actually be prepared to fight for 25 minutes which isn’t really natural. They can train without the body breaking down as often. And fans get a better roduct as the fighters are bigger, faster, stronger, and can actually fight for 25 minutes at a decent pace.
Another downside to this is other promotions will jusr grab up any big name the UFC has forced themselves to basically kick out of the UFC. A company like Bellashit will jump on anyone suspended for 4 years and use them in non commission states out out of the US, Also I believe fighters will fight the idea of being banned from making a living for 4 years. When you get to a length like that I feel the courts will rule against it. That is officially ending someones career and telling them they are not allowed to work in their choosen career.
It isn’t just about ko’s. Go watch a fight like the Thiago Silva vs Brandon Vera fight where Silva is just ragdolling and mauling him. Some fighters don’t get ko’d easily and can take tons of abuse-those are the really dangerous fights.
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That’s what the ref is there for. Roids or no roids no one is going to die u less they already have a condition or the red isn’t doing his job at all. If either of those are the case the. People can die without roids involved as we have already seen. Also Vera sucks and has fought stronger people than a roused Silva. Remember he fought at HW. Thiago isn’t stronger than Eilers or Assuerio Silva. What got Vera beat was his lazy style and Silva coming out aggressive.
The ref can’t control everything. There is still a fight going on. Not everyone who has ever died in the ring has had a bad ref or a pre existing condition.
Vera sucks because he fights guys who are roided up that have an unfair advantage. T. Silva and Rothwell both pissed hot after beating him. Everyone knows Shogun was juiced when he fought him, and I’m sure there was a few more.
If you think that Thiago Silva wasn’t stronger than Eilers or Assuerio Silva in those fights, you are nuts. He came out like the incredible hulk and was loaded with super human strength. He was on everything imaginable in that fight.
You really need to stop arguing this it is crazy to think fighters are just as safe with peds than without. Why do you think the NFL was sued to death? Those concussions weren’t nearly as prevalent pre steroids.