Dana White: VADA, WADA, badda, nada
At BJ Penn’s insistence, he and opponent Rory MacDonald will be undergoing extensive voluntary pre-fight testing for UFC 152. The testing will…
At BJ Penn’s insistence, he and opponent Rory MacDonald will be undergoing extensive voluntary pre-fight testing for UFC 152. The testing will be conducted under the auspices of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
However, it is not immediately clear what the consquences of a positive test would be.
UFC 152, which takes place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada will be regulated by the Ontario Athletic Commission. However, the OAC does not test for PEDs.
Commissioner Ken Hayashi explains.
“At the time the Ontario regulations permitting MMA was developed, we found no legal requirements on other professional sports, such as hockey or football, to have mandatory PED testing,” said Hayashi. “Rather for other professional sports, mandatory testing for PED is left to the professional athletes (through their player’s associations) and the league organizers to negotiate… We saw no evidence to treat professional combat sports any differently than other professional sports.”
The “league organizers” are of course the UFC, and as they do for cases where there is no regulating AC, or an AC that does not test, at UFC 152 they have contracted with an independent drug testing laborator. However, the lab was not VADA.
UFC President Dana White, while unenthusiastic, is not standing in the way of the tests.
“B.J. wants to go drug test every f—— two days, good for him,” said White. “Knock yourself out.”
“It’s just stupid. You’ve got guys like BJ and Big Country’, and guys like that that are always out there talking smack. The Nevada State Athletic Commission does the drug testing.
“VADA, WADA, badda, nada. Whatever. Nevada does it, or California, or wherever we are.”
