Stann: Event day testing ‘almost an IQ test’

Brian Michael Stann is a current UFC commentator, former WEC light heavyweight champion, and retired US Marine and UFC middleweight. He appeared recently on The MMA Hour and addressed the role of performance enhancing drugs in mixed martial arts.

Stann recently retired initially citing head trauma from Football, armed combat, and then mixed martial arts. He later added that the ubiquity of PEDs in MMA was a further reason.

“I think the time when you retire coming off a loss and then you say that, what I didn’t want to do was discredit any of my former opponents,” said Stann, as transcribed by MMAMania. “You know, specifically seeing that Wanderlei was my last fight, I didn’t want to come off like, ‘Hey, I’m making excuses. The only people that beat me were people on drugs.’ Because I don’t know any of that for a certainty. There was one time when I fought a guy on TRT when it was allowed, and that’s the only time that I could say substantially somebody was taking something. But, it was a factor. I’m a clean fighter. I’m 33 years old, and I have seen, in my own training, and in talking and knowing guys in the inner circle, I’ve known what guys are not on, and then when they cycle on it. You can feel the difference in the gym and what big a difference it makes, and I do think there are a number of guys who are using just because the testing currently by our athletic commissions is inadequate.”

“Currently, what athletic commissions are doing testing the day of the fight is not enough. That’s almost an IQ test.”

Stann related that he met with the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency, and expressed shock that the cost of random testing is $35,000-$45,000 per fight. This is beyond the budget of any athletic commission. However, ZUFFA CEO has stepped in and is covering the costs.

“I think we’ve made some significant changes in the last six or seven months and I think we can continue down that road especially if we can make the cost of random drug testing more efficient,” said Stann. “There’s got to be a way to lean out that cost so that it can be done.”

Stann also called for an increase in the length of a suspension, citing two years as a term that would be an effective deterrent.