Renzo: Almost all fighters on PEDs
Renzo Gracie: “There are exceptional guys like Frankie Edgar and Chris Weidman. These two have never taken anything. I watch them closely. Everyone (else) takes.”
The legendary Renzo Gracie, who turned 48 on Wednesday, spoke with Brazil’s Tatame about the problem with PEDs in mixed martial arts. Gracie said that his students UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman and former UFC lightweight champion and current flyweight contender Frankie Edgar do not use PEDs, and that, basically, everyone else does. Gracie expressed surprised that Anderson Silva got caught, but not that he was taking PEDs.
“Everyone is taking it,” said Gracie via Google translate. “The difference is that Anderson must have missed the deadline for when the substance leaves the body. Whoever is not taking, cannot keep up in this sport.
“There are exceptional guys like Frankie Edgar and Chris Weidman. These two have never taken anything. I watch them closely. Everyone takes (PEDs), except for them, but they are rare cases.
“I do not have a great knowledge in terms of steroids, but I heard that this substance is hard to catch. For some reason, (Anderson Silva) was caught. I do not know if he stretched how long he took them. The problem with these things is that you end up developing a dependency, both physical and psychological.”
The substance Gracie referred to was drostanolone, which Silva tested positive for in two out of three tests administered.
Gracie’s candor is desperately needed in the sport. PED use is indeed rampant in MMA. And it is not necessary. Chris Weidman is the champion of the world, and doesn’t use PEDs. Frankie Edgar was a great champion, with no PEDs, or for that matter weigh cutting. MMA is going to be fine without PEDs, and it is going to be fine without extreme weight cutting.
In fact, it is going to be better.
