Drug Testing Now Hurts More Than Helps The Sport

[welcometohavoc]

Drug testing in MMA has gotten completely out of control. It was implemented to improve the business but I just see main event after main event being ruined because of even "potential anti-doing violations." Drug testing has taken precedence over the actual sport. It's like the tail is wagging the dog. Drug testing was brought in to help - not hurt the sport.

It's been about 20 years since Josh barnett was stripped of his title but at least they held the fight and stripped him afterwards. These days they cancel the fight. It's been 20 years and more cards are being ruined because of drugs than were 10 or 20 years ago.

Drug testing isn't hurting MMA. Fighters taking drugs is hurting MMA.

 

[JoshR86]

Heredia said that the very best invested 100,000 dollars and he built them designer drugs. That was in 2000ish though, it'd be more now.

cut everyone's pay then!!! make UFC fighter too poor for designer drugs!!! Dana Make it Happen

 

[Kneeuinthenutz]

My biggest problem with USADA is that they were brought in to help get significant PED's out of sports. Meaning steroids, HGH, and EPO.....

They seem to catch very, very few using any of these substances, but are busting plenty for OTC tainted supplements. That's strange enough....

What really complicates things is that they are taking fighters off scheduled cards due to testing positive for these tainted supplements, only to find out they apparently are not in the wrong, and will not face any punishment.....They are costing the UFC lots of money, costing the fighters lots of money, and making the fans really pissed off.

There is something very wrong here.

 

[glenwo2]

losses set him back from big name big cash fights

Then how can you explain him(Hunt) getting $750,000 DOLLARS for LOSING against Reem then?


Didn't seem to set him back much at all there.

 

[whougonnacall]

Then how can you explain him(Hunt) getting $750,000 DOLLARS for LOSING against Reem then?


Didn't seem to set him back much at all there.

And now despite winning vs black beast hes fighting on a fight night card
Also how much did he lose with sponsors ? Where would a win with lesnar have left him title wise? and contract renegotation time wise?

 

[BGDDYKWL]

I know many disagree, and I get it, but I'm with you. Guys getting popped left and right and subsequently suspended for a year or two is TERRIBLE for the fans, and ultimately bad for the sport. I realize you want everyone on an equal playing field, but I don't think anyone could argue that purely from an entertainment perspective USADA has been terrible for the UFC.

 

[bandicoot]

Drugs are too ingrained in our culture for there to ever be a drug free United States. The UFC is just a microcosm of our society. It's in the nature of people to continue to take drugs even after being caught. Look at Josh Barnett's career.

Being American has little to do with drug culture. The Russian government literally funds their doping program for their Olympic athletes.

Nice try, though.

 

[glenwo2]

And now despite winning vs black beast hes fighting on a fight night card
Also how much did he lose with sponsors ? Where would a win with lesnar have left him title wise? and contract renegotation time wise?

I think him fighting on a fight night card has more to do with the UFC(namely Dana White) punishing him for his lawsuit that's going on. I bet it's like "okay. You can still fight but you fight whomever we tell you to fight in whatever venue and program that's on."

 

[Bend NvR Break]

No sport "needs" to be a sport. It's a sport that makes money and people like to watch it so it exists.

Prohibition was ruining our country. I'm glad the politicians realized that and didn't have your mindset of "If enforcing not drinking alcohol is ruining our country then we don't need to be a country." Fortunately they were intelligent enough to understand that human nature being what it is, people will always drink. They accepted rather than continue on a ridiculous crusade they thought could change human nature. Fighters will always use PEDs. It's in the nature of fighters and the athletes in most big money sports. If everyone is allowed to use them, the playing field is as fair as it ever can be. Subjugating human beings to standards which they will never attain because doing so would go against their very nature is an exercise in idealism of the worst sort.

They revoked prohibition because they saw how much money (literally millions at a time when your rent would cost $5) everyone making except the government.

So they made it legal and slapped a tax on it that survives today.

 

[Deleted member 512089]

No, you said "PEDs abuser fighter ruining the life of a good clean fighter is what ruins the sport." Lesnar couldn't have been "wrecking competition" because he'd been retired from MMA for 5 years! He has another job. Then he came back to fight at UFC 200. That did not ruin the sport or even the card. Lesnar being on the card actually saved UFC 200 from disaster. Hunt's life was not ruined by Lesnar. He made more money that night than he ever has or will in one fight.

Vitor was an asset to the sport. What "life of a good clean fighter" did Vitor actually ruin?

Finally, what is your proof that "drugs ruin the sport"? When was there a time when there were no drugs in MMA and it was clearly superior to The MMA of the last 25 years? The fact is, it's never been proven that a drug free MMA is superior and makes more money than what we've had in the UFC or had in PRIDE because there has never been a successful MMA promotion which was drug free.

One variant that you didn't take account of: the fighters quality of life

Hunt loat 2 years of his lifespan because of a steroid cheat

A drug free MMA is less dangerous for their health because there no cheater vs non-cheater fights where the cleab guy takes a mountain of damage

But you must be a Jones & Conor fan with this mentality, u can think only about money, so i'll pass

 

[whougonnacall]

I think him fighting on a fight night card has more to do with the UFC(namely Dana White) punishing him for his lawsuit that's going on. I bet it's like "okay. You can still fight but you fight whomever we tell you to fight in whatever venue and program that's on."

But a win wpuld have made it harder to justify
Not to mention sponsorship is libked to performance now
And it helpe when contracts are redrawn

 

[DrDebunker]

And I can Assure you that None of the top 20 mma guys in the world Are in the average testosterone range. They Are all in the absolute upper range for their agegroup. If their levels fall, they Are out of the top 20 in a second.

There Are absolutely no top 20 ufc fighter with as low as 700 ng/dl.

No. There Are not men past 40 with high natural test levels.

Yes, there is a huge decline in everyone with age.

Lol, you are just making a fool of yourself getting owned post after post by Bull terrier, Come on son, get back to school, you have not presented no proofs whatsoever about your shitty theory of fighters in their 30s and 40's not being a match for youngsters, BULLSHIT.

 

[thobra]

Lol, you are just making a fool of yourself getting owned post after post by Bull terrier, Come on son, get back to school, you have not presented no proofs whatsoever about your shitty theory of fighters in their 30s and 40's not being a match for youngsters, BULLSHIT.

What are you talking about?

Do you actually believe that a 38 year old professional fighter can compete with a 28 year old fighter without some extra help?

I am 40 years old. I lift weights 4 times per week, and do cardio (running, swimming) twice a week (3 times in summer). I eat healthy and specifically for my weight training, and drink my protein shakes. I hardly drink, and have no health issues. I have buddies and trainingpartners my age that also do powerlifting and different kinds of sports. The only thing I can point my finger on is that I don't get enough sleep, because of big workloads and family life. Since I have some heart issues in the family, I go to the doctor once a year to test everything, and he even tests my testosterone. According to him, I am in the upper normal range for my agegroup (I don't know the number).

1. My physique is very good for my age, but nowhere near my twenies and early thirties (even if I partied every weekend, often would skip leg days and did not watch my protein intake). My friends that also has done all kinds of training have the exact same story to tell. With age, you are slower, weaker, less agile, less flexible, and get injured more often. Talk to any pro athlete, and they will tell you the same story.

2. All evidence suggest that testosterone levels drop drastically when you are older. Nobody at 40 has "high" testosterone levels. They might have high for their agegroup, but not high compared to a pro 25 year old. Google it.

3. The average professional athletes retirement age is 33 across all sports. That is for a reason. google it.

4. In most sports 30 is considered old. Google it.

5. (cardio) VO2max tends to decline by about 10% per decade after the age of 30. The reason VO2max declines with age is that our maximal heart rates go down as well. Even a 5% decline will cause big issues vs a younger athlete.

6. Everyone knows that both type 1 and type 2 musclefibers decline with age. Nothing to do with that.

This BullTerrier might be your hero, but he has said nothing that is true in his posts. He is putting up some statistics that has nothing to do with this, and I am sorry to say, but your buddy is very naive, and know very little. Alos, testosterone is not the only reason for athletes declining.

 

[Bull Terrier]

What are you talking about?

Do you actually believe that a 38 year old professional fighter can compete with a 28 year old fighter without some extra help?

I am 40 years old. I lift weights 4 times per week, and do cardio (running, swimming) twice a week (3 times in summer). I eat healthy and specifically for my weight training, and drink my protein shakes. I hardly drink, and have no health issues. I have buddies and trainingpartners my age that also do powerlifting and different kinds of sports. The only thing I can point my finger on is that I don't get enough sleep, because of big workloads and family life. Since I have some heart issues in the family, I go to the doctor once a year to test everything, and he even tests my testosterone. According to him, I am in the upper normal range for my agegroup (I don't know the number).

1. My physique is very good for my age, but nowhere near my twenies and early thirties (even if I partied every weekend, often would skip leg days and did not watch my protein intake). My friends that also has done all kinds of training have the exact same story to tell. With age, you are slower, weaker, less agile, less flexible, and get injured more often. Talk to any pro athlete, and they will tell you the same story.

2. All evidence suggest that testosterone levels drop drastically when you are older. Nobody at 40 has "high" testosterone levels. They might have high for their agegroup, but not high compared to a pro 25 year old. Google it.

3. The average professional athletes retirement age is 33 across all sports. That is for a reason. google it.

4. In most sports 30 is considered old. Google it.

5. (cardio) VO2max tends to decline by about 10% per decade after the age of 30. The reason VO2max declines with age is that our maximal heart rates go down as well. Even a 5% decline will cause big issues vs a younger athlete.

6. Everyone knows that both type 1 and type 2 musclefibers decline with age. Nothing to do with that.

This BullTerrier might be your hero, but he has said nothing that is true in his posts. He is putting up some statistics that has nothing to do with this, and I am sorry to say, but your buddy is very naive, and know very little. Alos, testosterone is not the only reason for athletes declining.

Without getting into long drawn out debate with you, the link I posted showed you get people past 40 with test levels over 800 ng/dl. This is considered on the high end of average.

I'm open to debate, but you aren't posting any evidence to the contrary. Prove that you can't have high test after 40 and I'll happily concede you are right. Your anecdotal evidence about yourself means nothing.

 

[Blackjack]

One variant that you didn't take account of: the fighters quality of life

Hunt loat 2 years of his lifespan because of a steroid cheat

A drug free MMA is less dangerous for their health because there no cheater vs non-cheater fights where the cleab guy takes a mountain of damage

But you must be a Jones & Conor fan with this mentality, u can think only about money, so i'll pass

How old was Hunt going to get if not for "a steroid cheat"? How did the "steroid cheat" manage to take away exactly two years from Hunt? Was it something that only could have happened when fighting against a fighter who used steroids or is it the sort of thing that other people, like Mark Hunt himself has done to others?

When I see a young man who is 5' 10" and and has already let his body balloon to 290 pounds, which he was in PRIDE, it tells me longevity isn't one of his high priorities.

Don't you think it was pretty naive of him to work for PRIDE if he didn't expect to take damage from fighters on steroids? How many years do you suppose the non-cheating steroid users in PRIDE (there was no rule against using them in PRIDE) took off Hunt's life?

 

[Xaero]

I want exploding heads! USADA is ruining the sport.

 

[Hotora86]

Catching guys using banned substances IS how it helps.

1st post = /thread

 

[potemkin723]

Allow TRT

 

[Phi-]

Ooooooh, so now it's USADA that's hurting the sport not the fighters taking PEDs.

Very nice spin.

If I told you to "eat reprocessed food" instead of "eat shit", would that spin work for you as well?

 

[Omega Man]

Why is ok for every other major sport to be juiced but not MMA fighters? I mean pro football is a juice fest!