Random PED Testing and Punishment Guidelines Needed in the UFC

By MMA BLASTER

With Chael Sonnen's recent positive test for elevated levels of testosterone, the world's largest MMA promotion, the UFC, needs to put its foot down. Fighters under contract should be randomly tested throughout the year by an outside testing agency for performance enhancing drugs. In addition, the UFC needs clear, unambigious punishment guidelines.

Random testing is essential to ensuring that fighters cannot use performance enhancing drugs during competition. All fighters should designate one hour per week in which they could be randomly tested, with at least one test weeks before every fight. That way, fighters cannot plan in advance for drug tests, cycling in and out of steroid use. The tests could be performed through the World Doping Agency.

While state commissions do a good job punishing offenders of their drug policies, the UFC should set up independent punishment guidelines to run alongside these policies. As it stands now, punishment is not uniform with the same offenders suffering different fates – with some fighters cut, some immediately back after suspension, and some on the shelf long after their suspension has ended.

For example, Josh Barnett was cut from the UFC and stripped of his recently won heavyweight title after testing positive for three anabolic steroids after UFC 36. Sean Sherk tested positive for anabolic agents at UFC 73, only to return to competition at UFC 84, less than a year later, fighting for the title. Chris Leben and Stephan Bonnar each returned to competition less than a year after positive tests.

The UFC needs to send a stronger message to its fighters, and prospective fighters, that PED use will not be tolerated. Fighters entering the UFC would know they would have to run a clean camp leading into fights. Fighter health and safety would be better protected with random drug testing.

Sherk Stripped of Title

Thoughts by the MMA Blaster

Recently, Sean "Muscle Shark" Sherk (32-2-1) was stripped of his lightweight belt after "sorta" losing his appeal to CSAC. While his suspension was reduced from one year to six months, the fine was upheld, and he wasn't absolved of responsibility for having elevated levels of the anabolic steroid Nandrolone in his body. Even though Sherk was stripped of his title, he will get an immediate title shot against the winner of Stevenson v. Penn.

Sherk blamed the test results on a tainted supplement he took. The supplement was supposedly from the Xyience brand, a brand which used to sponsor Sherk and many UFC fighters. Apparently he went to long lengths to disprove the test results, such as taking a lie detector, but he was not able to overturn the positive test. Apparently, Phil Baroni was confronted with a similar situation. Both fighters were taking an extreme amount of supplements per day.

The sport has to be known as one that is clean. A speculation that MMA fighters are steroid users will only hurt the sports image, and hurt the fighters in the long run. With side effects such as acne, anaphylactic shock, birth defects, kidney failure, blood clotting changes, cardiovascular disease, depression, stunted growth, sexual dysfunction, hair loss, headache, blood pressure changes, liver stress, prostate enlargement, lowering of life expectancy ect, ect, ect, something has to be done to keep the fighters safe.

Steroid use should be frowned upon more by the UFC, and the UFC should set its own penalties for use. The UFC must also take a long look at supplements. Especially ones, (cough-Xyience), that have been known to produce false positives. Maybe, supplements should be banned altogether, or maybe the UFC can produce their own supplement line. Regardless, I would like to see the UFC confront the issue and do their best to rectify the situation for the sake of the sport and the fighters health.