Chad Mendes was flagged by USADA of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation related to an out-of-competitions sample collection. Also, Tim Means accepted a reduced sanction after he was pegged for using a banned substance.
The UFC provided its standard comment acknowledging it was notified by USADA of the potential violation.
No word on the substance that was discovered in Mendes’ drug test. Mendes is coming off a KO loss to Frankie Edgar this past September. He had no fights scheduled upcoming.
In other UFC-USADA news, Tim Means agreed to a 6-month suspension after he was flagged by USADA in February. Means tested positive for ostarine, a banned substance which is akin to anabolic steroids. The welterweight claimed that the he did not intentionally take the substance. Rather, it was from a tainted supplement. Means provided the supplement he claimed to have taken to USADA which was the reason for the mitigated sanction. Per testing by USADA, there was an undisclosed prohibited substance in the product although it was not listed on the label (i.e, Ostarine was not listed as an ingredient in the supplement).
Payout Perspective:
Mendes is just one fight removed from his big spotlight fight against Conor McGregor last July. We will see if Mendes will seek to appeal the violation. As for Means, his situation should be concerning since the banned substance was not listed on the supplement label.
I like a clean sport as much as the next guy but these out of competition rules suck.
If you get dehydrated and need an IV are you banned from competition? What if you get the flu and the IV is prescribed by your doctor? What if you’re really, really hung over in Vegas and get one of those IV services that come to your hotel room? Is that cheating?
If you get pneumonia (or have an asthma or allergy attack) and are given a corticosteroid in the ER?
A TUE is going to delay treatment for too long, so what is an athlete supposed to do? I think USADA is overreaching with some of these rules. I get that we don’t want cheaters, but we also want healthy athletes and way too many substances that have proven medicinal purposes are being banned without a good framework for addressing their legitimate usage.
I realize that in the cases of Mendes and Means my examples may not be apropos, but still, it’s annoying how illogical some USADA regulations can be.
Athletes should stop cheating. USADA regulations aren’t illogical at all. The things that athletes do to get an edge are illogical and can help hide the use of performance enhancing drugs.
“Further, it must be clearly stated that the use of IV fluid replacement following exercise to correct mild rehydration or help speed recovery is not clinically indicated nor substantiated by the medical literature. There is a well-established body of scientific opinion to confirm that oral rehydration is the preferred therapeutic choice. Legitimate medical indications for IV infusions are well documented and are most commonly associated with medical emergencies (emergency TUE), in-patient care, surgery, or clinical investigations for diagnostic purposes.”
I’m beginning to distrust USADA. Just look at the way Lesnar is being given preferential treatment.