UFC Announces Random Blood Testing & Zero Tolerance Policy For Failures

By Matt Williams

Officially, on March 31, 2012, the UFC and Zuffa LLC have announced the implementation of a new “Random Blood Testing and Zero Tolerance Policy” for any and all Zuffa contracted athletes. The commencement of said new policy is as of today, UFC brass announced early this morning. So, with all the sudden buzz circulating this massive issue, we felt it necessary to address, as well as break down some of the most important details so you might have a clearer understanding of what it means for the sport, as well as the athletes and the fans of the UFC and Strikeforce.

Over the past half-decade, there has undoubtedly been a steady increase of cases of performance-enhancement issues in the big shows. Thiago Silva’s fake penis and bladder, Chael Sonnen’s unreported TRT, and of course the always-under-fire Alistair Overeem are but a few of the many recent situations that came into conversation this morning at a Zuffa LLC press conference addressing the issue. The media has been all over this of late, and was acutely addressed by SI’s Josh Gross, suggesting UFC fighters should be axed from the promotion for failing drug tests. This is now more than a conversation – a reality.

Three days ago, Muhammed Lawal, better known as “King Mo,” was the pilot project for this new policy. His positive drug test result was dealt with swiftly, as his release from Zuffa-owned Strikeforce came as quickly as the suspension of his license. This is the new procedure we are to expect, UFC President Dana White announced. “We have been dealing with this expletive for a long time, man. It’s time these guys get their expletive together and fight fair.” He continued to say, “We have all these facilities. They get bombarded with sponsorships from pharmecutical companies, nutrition companies. Money and free product. I don’t get it. Guys who do this expletive are morons, and simply put, will be out of a job in this organization.”

For the athletes, this statement means a number of things. They will have to be more aware of the supplements they are taking, and only take what is known to them as ‘safe’, or will have to discontinue use altogether if they want to remain employed under Zuffa’s UFC or Strikeforce promotions. They will have to submit themselves at random for blood extraction — regardless of where in the world they are. Training in a remote region of the globe, at home in the Netherlands with your sick mother, or sun-bathing on the beaches of Hawaii will now be meaningless excuses. If a fighter is called for a random blood test, he or she will have 48 hours to comply with the order, or make arrangements to comply, or face immediate dismissal. Compliance means, at the expense of Zuffa, the fighters will be flown — if need be — to a trusted lab where the blood tests will be facilitated. Only those facilities approved by the USADA, or in some cases VADA, will be entrusted with the task, and when the results are in, they will go directly to the NSAC. Keith Kizer of the NSAC has admitted, “This is an enormous task, but one we feel is necessary if the UFC and MMA as a whole is to continue to progress.” Once a result comes back positive, an immediate 1-year suspension will be handed down by the commission, and the termination will be just as immediate.

“These tests can come at any time, and they will be frequent,” the UFC President stated. “These guys can be in the sauna cutting weight before a expletive fight, and if our guys come in and ask to draw blood, they’re gonna’ draw blood.”

The first fighter response came from Quinton Jackson, who sticks to his story about being prescribed testosterone shots by his “UFC doctor”, and claims that UFC Executives are just playing to the media. “UFC just trying to shut up the media with new policy,” Jackson said on his Twitter account shortly after the bomb was dropped. The problem for guys like “Rampage” is that the TUE (Theraputic Use Exemption) is now obsolete under Zuffa’s Zero Tolerance Policy. Athletes that are suffering from testosterone deficiency due to head trauma, age, or other previously acceptable reasons are now unable to undergo the infamous TRT a la Chael Sonnen, Nate Marquardt, or Dan Henderson. “These guys are athletes, man. They should be training harder if they have problems,” commented Dana White when the issue was addressed.

For the sport, this makes things a lot more interesting for some, and a lot more frustrating for other cases. Interesting in the sense that there will be no further second-guessing a victory. Could Brandon Vera have really defeated Thiago Silva if it weren’t for the PEDs? Did Chael Sonnen best Anderson Silva for the majority of their 5-round tilt due to his TRT? In those cases, it’s left to speculation. However, the UFC and Strikeforce organizations will have a lot less “what-if” scenarios of this description from this point onward. Frustration sadly will set in, once the fighters start complaining that they were in the middle of a camp in Thailand, and had to fly to Australia to the closest approved facility to have blood drawn and testing done three weeks prior to a bout. Perhaps following a weigh-in, amounts of blood are drawn from a few randomly selected fighters, and their opponents end up besting them in their contests. How many of these athletes are going to be sore losers and blame the loss on the sampling? This is a very tricky situation to have to deal with, but in the eyes of the execs, the fighters will just have to deal with it or move on to another promotion. One without a Zero Tolerance Policy.

For the fans, that much is up to you. Either you see it as a major victory for the side of fair play, or you see it as a massive waste of millions of dollars monthly, which could perhaps go toward better fights, more cards, or higher payouts for bonuses or marquee fighters. Whatever your take on the situation, it’s certain this is going to be something to talk about for quite some time, and only time will tell where this takes the UFC, and MMA as a whole.