UFC to institute random, out of competition PED testing

Mixed martial arts in North America is regulated by State, Provincial, Tribal, and Municipal government run Athletic Commissions. Drug testing on major cards is done by ACs generally immediately before or after the event for several fighters on the card chosen at random, as well as both fighters in a title fight.

Knowing when such a test is going to take place makes passing it more of an IQ test than a test fully capable of catching cheaters. Some progressive ACs have instituted random out of competition testing, often taking blood rather than urine. These tests have been wholly or partially bankrolled by the UFC, as they can cost tens of thousands of dollars for a single fight, something beyond the budget on a state agency. The results have been dramatic, with Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Ali Bagautinov, and Chael Sonnen all having issues to varying degrees.

Now Brett Okamoto is reporting that the UFC will be instituting independent. comprehensive, random out of competition testing within the next several months.

“We are meeting with different companies right now and we’re going to have out-of-competition testing,” UFC Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner told ESPN.com. “We’re not sure when it’s going to start, but we’re working on it right now.

“Unannounced blood and urine is going to happen, hopefully in the next three or four months. When you’re talking about 500 fighters, there are a lot of logistics. Having fighters in foreign countries makes it tougher, but we’re coming up with a plan and (agencies) are making proposals to us in the next two weeks.”

“The UFC will be randomly testing a percentage of fighters. When we decide on this regiment, it’s going to be a big cost but it’s well worth it when we do these out-of-competition tests.”

“There are a lot of moving pieces here. This issue has always been part of our regiment. We want to make sure there is a level playing field, so we’re going to be testing.”