UFC President Dana White recently told the LA times that UFC will begin to do their own drug testing for performance enhancing drugs (PED’s). The need for extra testing of UFC athletes has been continually in the news after Alistair Overeem’s removal from UFC 146 after a high testosterone to epitestosterone ratio showed up from a random drug test. Overeem’s subsequent removal caused an avalanche of changes for the UFC 146 card.
The UFC currently screens for PED’s when an athlete signs with the organization however they leave it up to the athletic commissions or tribal regulatory bodies that govern the state where their events take place. When UFC travels to a non-regulated country the UFC does act as its own governing body and drug test competitors.
Now UFC President Dana White has announced in an interview with Lance Pugmire of the LA Times that screening for PEDs is going to be expanded in order to save the sport. White told the LA Times:
“We’re going to do our own testing, order these guys into [a lab]; we’re sorting it out now. You have to do this to save the sport. You can’t have these guys fighting on this stuff. The steroid, PED thing affects the whole sport. The key is to make sure these guys never get on it, because once they do, they change. But I think we have about 420 fights a year . . . you have a guy or two popping [positive tests] here and there, that’s a pretty good ratio.”
No further information was given as far as when UFC will begin its own drug testing. Stay tuned to ProMMAnow.com for further updates.