Safe to say that USADA was the worst decision the UFC ever made?

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

Chasing cheaters out of the sport is a great decision.
Now they have to care about belts again.

 

[Etherized]

Zuffa enacted USADA testing so they sell it for 4 billion. They could market the sport as mainstream, regulated and clean. Now it's WME's problem.

 

[Deleted member 448575]

that's not how steroids work.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

just sayin', you don't HAVE to take steroids to be a good MMA fighter. the only thing you HAVE to be is GOOD.

 

[giusti825]

hmm you seem to like cheating more than fair competition.

you should watch politics instead, you'll probably like it more

it is fair competition once the rules and enforcement are agreed upon.....anything beyond that is part of the game....

most pro athletes use and beat the tests....

 

[KeyboardFighter]

Zuffa enacted USADA testing so they sell it for 4 billion. They could market the sport as mainstream, regulated and clean. Now it's WME's problem.

The fertittas are geniouses. Be in charge of the nevada athletic commision, deny UFC from making shows. Buy it for chump change. Pay fighters peanuts with exclusive contracts. Hunt down the competition. Create the peefect image with rebook, USADA and the fox deal. Ship it out for 4.4 billions and then watch it crash.

 

[giusti825]

From a fan perspective I wouldn't mind if there was barley any drug testing. BUT there is one major downside. What if you're a 17-year-old aspiring fighter? You only have two options, either start taking steroids like everyone else or don't become a professional fighter.

This is the reality of modern pro sports.....we need to accept it.....because it cant and wont be stopped......even the best drug testing money could buy doesnt catch 90% of athletes using PEDs.....

Athletic organizations need to stop dumping money into an industry that cant deliver what it promises (anti-doping).....

As far as the 17-year-old kid goes.....heres a novel idea: Be honest with him.

Kids aren't as dumb as people think, and when they realize theyve been lied to, they just become less trusting. When it comes to drugs....the honest approach will help them more than lying.

Kids shouldn't be walking around thinking pot will kill them or that its a one-way road to methamphetamine......

They also shouldn't be deceived about the reality of professional sports. It will help those who wish to compete be more prepared for decisions they may have to make during their career, and it will lead to more healthy discourse about drug safety and treatment.

PEDs arent going to go away just because some people dont like them.....and the 17 year old kid is going to be in the real world one day anyway....being honest about things you or your kid might not like is better than lying to them and having them find out the truth their own way.....it will make them question whether or not you know what youre talking about and whether or not youre honest with them....

 

[Captain Herb]

No Ubereem
No Jones
No Lesnar

Massive fights gone down the drain. Shortening or ending careers. Paying for all these random tests. Having all your athletes go from A level to C level.

You want A level athletes? Let them take their A level shit. I want to watch super heroes inside that cage. Not 2 above average human beings. When you watch sports, you are watching lab made freaks do things you can never dream of doing. Thats why you watch it. This is a fact. USADA would catch ALL your fav athletes from every sport doing something dirty.

Steroids in MMA was a non issue. Casual fans didnt give a shit or even pay attention. Just test the fighters enough so they dont go full Bob Sapp and that it. Going full on USADA was a shot in the foot because now you have turned it into a standard and can never go back because that would be a much more terrible look for the UFC.

The fertidas realized this massive mistake and cashed out just in time. If Conor doesnt come back, WME have bought themselves a lemon. MMA will go back to being secondary behind boxing.

RIP Jon Jones' career. You could have gone down as something special. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong sport at the wrong time.

Except that athletes who have been shown to have used steroids and PEDs throughout their career are almost universally shunned and their accomplishments downplayed or outright dismissed by popular consensus. Is it a double standard? Yes. People do want to see superhero athletes doing things that can't be done but, at least in the U.S., I believe that is superseded by the idea that they are doing it fair and square.

 

[HaulParris]

The fertittas are geniouses. Be in charge of the nevada athletic commision, deny UFC from making shows. Buy it for chump change. Pay fighters peanuts with exclusive contracts. Hunt down the competition. Create the peefect image with rebook, USADA and the fox deal. Ship it out for 4.4 billions and then watch it crash.

I agree with all the points above. It's a complicated history with pros and cons at every turn:
1) UFC was going bankrupt under SEG, and if it went under, the sport of MMA could have disappeared. Fertittas revived it, but in a manipulative way that ensured that they would get it for cheap and then be able go influence NSAC (and others)in a way SEG wasn't able to.
2) UFC slowly assembled most of the best athletes in the world under one company, but ran smaller companies out of business and tied athletes into unfavorable contracts.
3) UFC made the sport more professional with drug testing (which at times seems invasive) and uniforms (which cheats fighters out of sponsor pay), and getting it on TV for more fans to see (which means more cards, which arguably diluted quality of cards).