Chris Leben has been fined and suspended after testing positive for steroids. The drug flagged was Stanozolol, which is more commonly known as Winstrol. It is an anabolic steroid that is widely used for cutting weight. In 2003, Tim Sylvia was suspended for six months and stripped of the UFC Heavyweight Title for Stanozolol use. He returned to action with the UFC nine months later and fought for his relinquished title, so the odds are good that Leben will fight for the promotion in the future. Leben must forfeit a third of his purse for the Bisping fight and sit out nine months. In the build-up for his latest fight, the UFC marketed Leben as a changed man. He had given up drinking, moved to Hawaii to train, and claimed to be in a better place mentally. Unfortunately for Leben and the UFC, he made a terrible choice and got caught.
For Mixed Martial Arts, steroids are becoming a major problem. The testing procedures are adequate, but it is time for the promotions to take a more active role and stress prevention. Fighters need to be educated about the list of banned substances and their dangers. I'd even go as far to say that an independent testing agency should be brought in to randomly test fighters throughout the year. Any one who tests positive faces a suspension. It's time MMA got serious about steroids and the other banned substances before it gets out of control.
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