The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikeforce organizations held their fourth Fighter Summit on July 9 and July 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC President Dana White and UFC CEO and Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta welcomed over 300 UFC and Strikeforce athletes to Las Vegas, Nevada.

The athletes attended seminars that provided information on social media, responsibilities to the brand, the sport, and the fans. However, one of the most important notes is that the UFC and Strikeforce announced a formalized written policy against performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) and other banned substances.

It was also announced that, despite an increase in cost, all UFC and STRIKEFORCE athletes will have accidental medical insurance for a second year, including added coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Lawrence Epstein, the company’s Executive Vice-President and General Counsel spoke on PED written policy:

“It is important to continue educating our athletes on the dangers of PEDs and other banned substances. Additionally, no new UFC or STRIKEFORCE promotional agreement will become effective before the athlete has provided a clean PED test result.”

“PED and banned substance usage harms the integrity of sport, potentially compromises the safety of our athletes, raises concerns for both short and long-term health issues and sends an improper message to our fanbase. We will continue to be at the forefront of this issue. And we will continue to work with Athletic Commissions and other bodies to ensure – to the fullest extent possible – that testing procedure keep pace with scientific advancements regarding the identification and detection of prohibited substances.”

The policy will follow guidelines drafted by the same law firm which advises the National Football League on PEDs.

UFC Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta said:

“Flying over three hundred athletes from literally all over the world, from Brazil, Europe, the Far East, Australia and all over North America, is always a logistical challenge. But it is invaluable for our major sports organization to get all of our athletes together go over things like insurance, drug testing and social responsibility. We had great feedback from our athletes and the summit was extremely worthwhile.”

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