JDS: We’re getting punished by USADA before we’re judged
Junior Dos Santos: “I know it sounds scary, but what’s happening is that we’re getting punished before we’re even judged.”
On August 18, former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos was pulled from a fight vs. Francis Ngannou at UFC 215, due to a potential doping violation. It was eventually determined that the flagged test was due to a contaminated supplement. The same Brazilian compounding pharmacy also caused Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Marcos Rogerio de Lima to have tests flagged.
Eventually, JDS took a six-month suspension, allowing him to fight immediately. However, the cost to the fighter was substantial and left him with serious doubts not about USADA’s intent, but about their execution. Dos Santos had to pay for an attorney. He needed to test a number of the 20 or so supplements he was taking, at $500 to $1,000 each, at his own cost. He lost a television commentary gig on Brazilian television. He lost out on income – his previous fight he earned $800,000 in a loss to division champion Stipe Miocic, while a 2015 fight saw him make $400,000 in a loss.
I have no words to describe it because it was a very sad situation, said Dos Santos to Fernanda Prates for MMAjunkie. Being accused of something that I always defended, which was USADA’s presence, making this a clean sport. And suddenly to have people labeling me a liar? That was heavy. That was very heavy for me.
I thought, with USADA’s experience and their understanding, that they would be able to say what was a contamination and what wasn’t. Not just because of the substance, but the amount, as well. But that’s not how it happened.
We need to discuss this more. We need to bring this subject to light so it doesn’t happen anymore. Because fighting is our life. It’s all that we do. Imagine, for instance, a case in which the person can’t defend themselves and get a longer suspension. This is an entire life on hold. This can’t happen. This is a very serious subject, so it’s important that we discuss it more and more.
“My hope now is that USADA does more studies on this. It can’t be that with all their capabilities, all the experience they have, they can’t tell who was victim of contamination and who wasn’t. I know it isn’t that simple, but I hope they find a way.
I think in situations like these, they shouldn’t take the fighters off fights. They should keep the fighter in the fight, and in case culpability was proven, then they could penalize them in an even harsher way. I know it sounds scary, but what’s happening is that we’re getting punished before we’re even judged.
Dos Santos fights former WSOF champion Blagoy Ivanov at UFC Fight Night 133: dos Santos vs. Ivanov on July 14, 2018, at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho. It will have been 14 months and a day since his last fight.
