ON the face of it, Brock Lesnar’s failed UFC 200 drug test marks a significant low for the sport of mixed martial arts.
The highest-paid athlete in the history of UFC fight purses testing positive in an out-of-competition test ranks right up there on the list of nightmare scenarios for the UFC brass.
And following hot on the heels of Jon Jones’ recent failed test, it represents a huge one-two combination to the solar plexus for the UFC and its fans.
Both Jones and Lesnar are now receiving due process for their respective cases, and if found guilty of taking performance enhancers, they face a minimum two-year suspension from the UFC.
For Jones, it would cut short his plan to return to the Octagon and reclaim his spot at the top of the sport as MMA’s pound-for-pound number one.
And for Lesnar it would stop any thoughts of a serious UFC comeback at the age of 39.
I’m sure we’ll see plenty of hot-take columnists and writers who don’t usually cover the sport coming out of the woodwork to use these recent failed tests as a stick with which to beat the UFC and the sport of MMA.
But a look at the bigger picture says something rather different. The fact people are getting caught only serves to illustrate the effectiveness of the testing and the progress that’s been made in the UFC’s still-short history.
And any cynicism must surely be tempered by the two names making the headlines at the moment.
These aren’t sacrificial lambs, pushed to the fore to artificially demonstrate the policy’s effectiveness. These are two of the biggest stars in the sport, caught in the net of what we’re told is the most comprehensive drug testing policy in all of sport.
When the UFC hired USADA as independent administrators of their anti-doping policy, UFC co-owner and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta admitted it would get worse before it got better.
Put simply, it was a loss-leader for the UFC. The risk of losing a big name or two and missing out on a big fight or two was far outweighed by the reward of having a sport with a strong stance on anti-doping as it continues to push itself into the mainstream as one of the fastest-growing, exciting and (importantly) legitimate sports in the world today.
And, referencing Fertitta’s words above, right now we’re going through that ‘worse’ stage.
But the reason people are now getting caught is simple. The anti-doping programme and testing methods are right at the top of the tree in the world of sports anti-doping.
Indeed, during an USADA media briefing in March, I and my fellow colleagues in the world’s MMA media were told by USADA officials that the UFC’s anti-doping policy is “the most comprehensive anti-doping policy in professional sport… and there isn’t a close second.”
USADA CEO Travis Tygart said similar when the policy was launched last year, saying: “This programme sets a new standard for all of professional sport.
“Given the independence, the transparency and the robustness of the policy that’s going to be implemented, it’s the top (anti-doping policy) of all professional sport around the world.”
And Tygart also warned that: “We don’t want to catch anyone, but if they’re cheating they’re going to get caught.”
The year-round, comprehensive in- and out-of-competition testing is a far cry from the early, unregulated days of the UFC and even further from the famed Japanese MMA promotion PRIDE, whose fighters’ contracts included a line stating that they would NOT be drug tested.
But thanks primarily to Fertitta, who pushed the UFC towards regulation after buying the promotion 15 years ago, the UFC has taken on an increasingly professional approach to fighter health and safety.
The comprehensive anti-doping policy, which costs the UFC millions of dollars per year, may see the UFC lose out on big fights, such as the Daniel Cormier v Jon Jones rematch that was scrapped at the 11th hour in the lead-up to UFC 200.
But while there are – and will continue to be – casualties, the long-term winner will be the UFC itself.
They chose to invest millions in a comprehensive anti-doping policy KNOWING they would lose out on some of these fights, KNOWING some big names could get caught in USADA’s net. But they went through with it anyway.
To the layman, it may look like they’re cutting off their nose to spite their face, but in reality it’s quite the opposite. They’re actually protecting and furthering the development of the sport.
They could have placed the onus on the state athletic commissions to carry out the testing – which they do, but not to anything like the same level or frequency.
But instead they wanted to lead the way. They hired USADA as administrators, drew up a strong anti-doping policy and USADA now independently enforce it.
We’ve seen some big names caught in the net already – none bigger than Jones and Lesnar, whose due process continues following the notice of their ‘potential anti-doping policy violations’.
And I daresay we’ll see a few more in the months and years to come, too. Athletes are always looking for an edge, and some will take risks by going beyond the bounds of the rules.
It happens in all sports. It just so happens that now, the UFC’s anti-doping policy, administered by USADA, is beginning to catch these athletes whereas in other sports they may still have the room to prosper.
But it appears some athletes have been prepared to take those risks in the past, the presence of the anti-doping policy and the punishments that await offenders (such as a minimum two-year ban for a first offence for a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs) are now strong enough to raise the level of risk to deter those athletes at source.
With each instance of an athlete being caught, the sport gets a little cleaner. And we can take positivity from that.
And with two of the biggest names in the UFC falling foul of the USADA testing process, it also sends a message that the testing process is indiscriminate and even the sport’s big guns can be caught.
Any doubts about the legitimacy, the integrity and the effectiveness of the policy have surely all but been blown away by these recent results.
Yes. It’s undeniably sad and disappointing to see some of the sport’s huge names testing positive. But it’s also good to see that if athletes ARE cheating (and we’ll find that out in due course), they’re being caught.
From my personal point of view, any athlete proved to have taken performance enhancers is not only unfairly tipping the balance in their favour, it also artificially increases the safety risk to their opponent.
The need for fighters to compete on an even playing field in combat sports such as MMA and boxing is arguably more important than in any other sport in the world.
And to find, catch and ban the athletes who are wilfully prepared to put their fellow competitiors at increased risk in the search for glory and a higher pay packet has to be one of the most important tasks in this great sport.
That’s why, despite all the remarkable work he’s done to develop the UFC and the sport of MMA, this anti-doping policy might just prove to be Lorenzo Fertitta’s greatest legacy for the sport as he departs the UFC for pastures new.
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