Bye, Bye PEDs: A 5-Point Plan to Get Performance-Enhancing Drugs out of UFC
You aren’t going to like this.
The price of expunging performance-enhancing drugs from mixed martial arts will be steep, and fans will need to shoulder at least some of the cost.
Sorry, I know that stinks to hear. At this point, though, we all owe it to each other to start telling the difficult truth. In the wake of last week’s revelation that former middleweight champion Anderson Silva failed a pre-fight drug test for his UFC 183 bout against Nick Diaz, drastic action is necessary.
No one can say for sure if there is a PEDs epidemic going on in MMA, but it’s sure starting to seem that way. Silva’s positive test felt like a tipping point of sorts. If the consensus greatest fighter of all time is on steroids, it’s pretty easy to imagine the rest of the sport might have a fairly widespread problem.
That should concern you greatly if you care at all about MMA’s future. It should worry you for the health and safety of the men and women who make a living inside the cage. Maybe, if you’re a forward-thinking consumer, it should even make you wonder what ultimately happens to the money you spend each month on cable and pay-per-view television.
Rooting PEDs out of MMA won’t be easy. It’s going to demand a fairly comprehensive reimagining of our sport, how it’s regulated and how we consume it. At this point, though, we may not have any other choice.
So, where to begin?
Here’s a five-point program on how to start weeding performance enhancers out of MMA...
1. Institute Comprehensive WADA-Accredited Testing
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We were so close.
It felt as if the Holy Grail was at hand last year, when the UFC announced it would begin random, year-round drug testing for all contracted fighters in 2015. Finally, the world’s largest MMA promoter was about to get serious about battling the scourge of PEDs on its home turf.
It seemed too good to be true, and alas, the idea never left the launch pad. After a single allegedly bungled incident at an overseas event in August, UFC President Dana White announced the fight company would scrap the still-theoretical program.
It was very out-of-character for UFC brass to admit something was just too hard for it to handle, and it was a shame. The truth is, the only organization with the budget, manpower and access to institute a truly effective comprehensive drug-testing program for UFC fighters is the UFC itself.
What the UFC really ought to do—really, what it needs to do—is create an entirely new wing of the company to focus exclusively on testing. Give this new division of Zuffa LLC the resources to move independently and the authority to act with complete transparency. Better yet, partner with an existing World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited testing agency like the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency and turn the process over to independent experts.
Tell every fighter who signs a UFC contract that he or she will be tested a minimum of three times each year at a date and place of the company’s choosing. Tell the fighters the tests will be run in adherence to the WADA Code and the penalties for failure will be swift and severe.
Will this be expensive? Yes. Will it get messy? Probably.
Will it be worth it?
Only if you want the sport to be around in 10 years.
2. Work with Commissions, but Be Better and Scarier Than Commissions
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Let’s be clear, the UFC-run testing we talk about in Point No. 1 should be better, more aggressive and in addition to the testing offered by athletic commissions. If, for example, a state commission bans a fighter for nine months (as the California commission did to WSOF’s Jon Fitch last week), then the promoter’s penalties should be stiffer and come on top of state sanctions.
For years, the UFC’s official policy was to follow the lead of state athletic commissions (specifically the NSAC) in regulatory matters, including drug testing. In fact, for a while there every time the issue of enhanced drug testing came up, UFC President Dana White would defiantly exclaim (language NSFW) the sport was “regulated by the government” and effectively pass the buck.
To its credit, the UFC is now actively funding additional, commission-based testing. It paid for the test that nabbed Silva, for example. Unfortunately, that’s clearly not enough. The world’s largest MMA promotion needs to be a leader (not a follower) on this issue just as it has been in other regulatory fights and in pioneering new technology for the sport.
Don’t get us wrong, we’re glad the commission testing is there, but it should be seen as a safety net of last resort, not our first and only line of defense against PEDs.
In short, the quality of UFC-sponsored independent testing needs to force athletes to both respect and fear it. They need to believe that if they use, they will get caught.
Right now, they don’t. And that’s a big part of the problem.
3. Hit Cheaters Harder, and Hit Them Where It Really Hurts
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It remains to be seen exactly what kind of punishment will be meted out against Silva. At some time in the future, he’ll have to appear in front of the NSAC to take his medicine (no pun intended), though as a fighter who may already have one foot in retirement, it’s unclear what kind of fine or suspension would prove meaningful to him.
There's talk that his win over Diaz may be converted to a no-contest, but that too isn’t likely to do much to turn the fighter’s head.
One thing seems clear, however: If you want to keep fighters from cheating, the penalties for getting caught must be devastating. They must also be written in the two languages all fighters speak in common—money and time.
One idea? A first offense should result in at least a year-long suspension and the loss of half of a total fight purse. A second offense should draw a two-year ban and complete loss of fight purse. A third offense makes you forcibly retired but still under contract, therefore disallowed from fighting for another organization.
These penalties should be spelled out in clear, written policy just as the penalties for wearing the wrong clothes, using inappropriate language and flat-out losing fights.
When people test positive the lost money should go partly to the fighter’s opponent—for conspiring to put him/her in harm’s way—the other portion should go to continuing to fund increased testing.
It would be a start. There should also be a monetary incentive for keeping clean, which brings us to our next point...
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4. Fundamentally Change the Way Fighters Are Paid
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Sad to say, but—coupled with the fact they just don’t think they’re going to get caught—the way fighters are paid probably does more to incentivize PED use than anything else.
Keep in mind, we’re talking about a sport where as much as 50 percent of your salary can depend on whether you win or lose. On top of that, there are hefty financial bonuses waiting for those athletes who accomplish the most amazing physical feats inside the cage.
Meanwhile, if you get hurt, get sick or pull out of a bout for any reason, you may not get paid at all.
Show up one night feeling less than your best and lose a fight? You can get cut.
All of that must stop.
A) Completely do away with win bonuses. Or at least, greatly decrease the percentage of fighter pay that depends on winning and losing.
B) Discontinue performance-based “Fight of the Night” awards. Instead, roll that money into a year-round living-expenses stipend for all fighters on the UFC roster, regardless if they’re healthy or hurt.
C) Restructure contracts to guarantee a fighter won’t be cut in the middle of the term due to his/her win-loss record. You want to cut people when their contracts expire? Fine, but at least give the athletes a modicum of job security.
D) To piggyback on an idea floated on social media by former UFC champion Pat Miletich, create a new bonus system based not on performance, but on whether fighters pass their drug tests.
E) At the end of the year, if a fighter passed all of his/her random tests, double his/her yearly pay.
F) Make additional bonuses available to people who sign up for extra, voluntary testing throughout the year.
Result: Make fighting clean a better paying gig than fighting dirty, and you might start getting somewhere.
5. Lower Our Expectations, and Raise Our Standards
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Brutal honesty time, MMA fans: A clean sport might be a less exciting sport.
There might be fewer highlight-reel knockouts. There could be fewer mind-boggling submissions. Five-round fights might turn into a bit more of a crapshoot. There could be more injury delays, more fighters hauling around man-on-the-street bodies and more fighters getting suddenly old and washed up during their mid-30s, just like God intended.
And you know what? I’m totally fine with that. After the news of the last couple of weeks, I feel completely willing to make sacrifices in the name of a cleaner sport.
Obviously, that starts at home. We need to stop expecting athletes in their late 30s and 40s to compete at the highest level. We need to stop expecting superhuman results from our favorites.
Perhaps most importantly, we need to refuse to pay to watch people who’ve been caught using PEDs. As a fanbase, we have to be willing to vote with our wallets and cut the cord from athletes we know are habitual users.
Perhaps the strongest deterrent for any kind of performer is to see his or her drawing power evaporate. If fighters start to see a real link between PEDs and a loss of fan support (and, indeed, a loss of income) it might be the most effective statement we can make.
Conclusion: It's an Uphill Fight
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Brass tacks?
Any time people compete in anything and money is on the line, there is going to be cheating. We might never fully eradicate the use of PEDs from MMA, and to even try will take sacrifices from fans, promoters and fighters alike. But if we aren't willing to work hard to try to make this sport better, then maybe we don't deserve to have it in the first place.
I say bring on the testing. Ramp up the penalties. Change some of the basic assumptions about how this sport should work. Let the chips fall where they may.
It sure beats the alternative.
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