Anthony Pettis plans to sue USADA as a result of a drug test this past August prior to his fight against Nate Diaz.
Pettis gave an accounting of what transpired after he cut his hand on a glass bottle for that was part of the USADA testing kit. In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Pettis stated that he had to take two USADA drug tests prior to his fight against Nate Diaz at UFC 241. On the second test, he cut his hand so severe that he claims his coach, Duke Rufous, did not want him to fight.
Anthony Pettis suffered a cut on his hand hours before fighting Nate Diaz at UFC 241.
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 13, 2020
Hear from @Showtimepettis about how the bizarre injury occurred and why he's suing USADA as a result (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/gXt5WR1GMe
Pettis fights this Saturday against Carlos Diego Ferreira who had his own legal issues related to USADA. After an adverse finding in a USADA test, he sued the supplement makers for an alleged tainted supplement.
Payout Perspective:
Whether or not Pettis goes through with a lawsuit against USADA will be something we will be following. There are many others entities that may harbor some liability as a result of his hand being cut. Obviously, USADA, then the UFC for contracting with USADA and the manufacturer of the kit that USADA uses. This is all hypothetical but still something to consider. If Pettis claims that the result of his injury is related to the design of the kit, USADA may point the finger of the maker of the kit. One has to believe that USADA is not manufacturing these glass kits in house.
Moreover, the big issue is what are Pettis’ damages. He was paid for fighting Diaz at UFC 241 and one there does not appear to be anything in that fight that one would point to that Pettis lost due to his hand being compromised.
MMA Payout will keep you posted.
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