USADA announced that it will no longer be working with the UFC in 2024 according to CEO Travis Tygart in a statement on social media. It appears a dispute occurred with the reentry of Conor McGregor into the USADA testing pool.
Notably, the statement indicates the two sides were in talks about a contract renewal in May, but made an 180 degree turn on the same day McGregor was added to the pool.
Read the full statement from USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart here: https://t.co/3vfuhx5haD pic.twitter.com/MNGgnDN6U6
— USADA (@usantidoping) October 11, 2023
The statement includes a direct statement regarding the issues surrounding the former two division champion.
The relationship between USADA and UFC became untenable given the statements made by UFC leaders and others questioning USADA’s principled stance that McGregor not be allowed to fight without being in the testing pool for at least six months. One UFC commentator echoed this, recently declaring that USADA should not oversee the UFC program since we held firm to the six-month rule involving McGregor, and since we do not allow fighters without an approved medical basis to use performance-enhancing drugs like experimental, unapproved peptides or testosterone for healing or injuries simply to get back in the Octagon.
For those wondering, it does not look like VADA would be a replacement in 2024 based on this social media statement after the news.
@ufc has always needed to be under the Ali Act—now more than ever. They also need a players union like #NFL
— Vada-Testing.org (@Vada_Testing) October 11, 2023
Recently, Mark Hunt’s lawsuit against the UFC was dismissed. While the case is over, the facts concerning the lawsuit had the UFC relying on USADA as its shield with respect to the fact that Brock Lesnar tested positive for a banned substance. For those that followed, the UFC granted Lesnar an exemption to the 6 month rule so that his appearance at UFC 200 could be a surprise. Hunt’s lawsuit was dismissed but the facts still are relevant to the McGregor issue since there has not been another fighter that has been granted such exemption since Lesnar.
It appears that either the UFC will self-govern its drug-testing or rely on the commissions to test fighters. While the UFC Anti-doping policy produced a lot of good and provided a third-party overseer of banned substance, its clear that the regulation and enforcement wore thin. The enforcement was especially harder with bigger-named stars that had issues with USADA. The strong statement made by USADA on its way out of its relationship reveals the uneasy partnership and the issues underlying the alliance.
Leave a Reply