Former two division champion Conor McGregor has found himself at the heart of a bitter dispute between the UFC and USADA.
The Irishman took another step towards returning to the Octagon by re-entering the US Anti-Doping Agency’s testing programme.
The 35-year-old has not fought since 2021 when he was beaten by Dustin Poirier and suffered a brutal leg break at the end of the first round.
He has been out of the USADA testing pool since, but the agency announced he has re-entered. The recent news has sparked real controversy between MMA’s biggest promotion and USADA.
Mail Sport breaks down the recent events between the UFC and USADA and what’s next going forward.
Conor McGregor took a step towards returning to UFC by re-entering the USADA testing pool
But the doping agency fears he may return before spending six months in the testing pool
UFC officially cuts ties with USADA
On Wednesday, the United States Anti-Doping Agency confirmed they will no longer oversee the UFC’s anti-doping program once their current contract expires at the end of 2023.
USADA CEO Travis Tygart confirmed the announcement in an official statement along with the news that McGregor had re-entered the drug-testing pool following a long absence away from the programme.
‘We can confirm that Conor McGregor has re-entered the USADA testing pool as of Sunday, October 8, 2023,’ Tygart said.
‘We have been clear and firm with the UFC that there should be no exception given by the UFC for McGregor to fight until he has returned two negative tests and been in the pool for at least six months. The rules also allow USADA to keep someone in the testing pool longer before competing based on their declarations upon entry in the pool and testing results.
‘Unfortunately, we do not currently know whether the UFC will ultimately honour the six-month or longer requirement because, as of January 1, 2024, USADA will no longer be involved with the UFC Anti-Doping Programme.’
Tygart claims that talks were ongoing for an extension between USADA and the UFC until negotiations broke down.
White and the UFC then opted to end the partnership starting in 2024.
MMA’s biggest promotion first partnered with USADA back in 2015 to oversee the UFC’s doping initiative.
During the eight-year relationship, USASA conducted over 27,000 tests across the UFC’s roster – with many fighters going on to have mixed views about the programme.
The UFC has chosen not to renew its contract with USADA, meaning McGregor may not be required to serve his six-month period
USADA blame Conor McGregor
While fans are jumping for joy over the recent news that the former two-division champion has re-entered the testing pool, Tygart pointed the finger at the UFC, blaming the company for the downfall in their relationship.
Tygart claims that it is largely due to the situation regarding McGregor – who dropped out of the anti-doping programme following his trilogy defeat to Dustin Poirier back in 2021.
After suffering a nasty leg break against ‘The Diamond’ in Las Vegas, McGregor has teased plans to re-enter the programme and compete under the UFC banner. However, under USADA rules, the Irishman would have to undergo six months of testing before being allowed to compete again.
‘Despite a positive and productive meeting about a contract renewal in May 2023, the UFC did an about-face and informed USADA on Monday, October 9, that it was going in a different direction,’ Tygart said.
‘We are disappointed for UFC athletes, who are independent contractors who rely on our independent, gold-standard global program to protect their rights to a clean, safe, and fair Octagon. The UFC’s move imperils the immense progress made within the sport under USADA’s leadership.
USADA have blamed McGregor, who has not fought since his defeat to Dustin Poirier in 2021, for the split with the UFC
The former two-division champion dropped out of the anti-doping programme following his defeat to Poirier at UFC 264
‘The relationship between USADA and UFC became untenable given the statements made by UFC leaders and others questioning USADA’s principled stance that McGregor not be allowed to fight without being in the testing pool for at least six months.’
Tygart added that USADA wouldn’t approve an exemption for the Irishman after he dropped out of the programme while recovering from his brutal injury.
‘One UFC commentator echoed this, recently declaring that USADA should not oversee the UFC program since we held firm to the six-month rule involving McGregor, and since we do not allow fighters without an approved medical basis to use performance-enhancing drugs like experimental, unapproved peptides or testosterone for healing or injuries simply to get back in the Octagon,’ Tygart said.
‘Fighters’ long-term health and safety — in addition to a fair and level playing field — are more important to USADA than short-term profits at the expense of clean athletes.
‘USADA is proud of the work we’ve done over the past eight years to clean up the UFC, and we will continue to provide our unparalleled service to UFC athletes through the remainder of our current contract, which ends December 31, 2023. As always, we will continue to uphold the rights and voices of clean athletes in all sport.’
Dana White blames USADA and will now do their own testing
Following USADA’s stunning statement, White has launched an attack on the anti-doping programme.
Speaking on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, White said: ‘It was a dirty move. That was straight-up scumbag-ism.
‘So that will all be addressed today, not by me.
‘I’ll let [Jeff] Novitzky and our lawyer Hunter Campbell handle that.
‘The you know what is about to hit the fan.’
Dana White has hit back and launched a stinging attack on the United States Anti-Doping Agency
Speaking on the Pat MacAfee Show, White hit out at USADA following their recent statement
UFC executive vice president and chief business officer Hunter Campbell along with senior vice president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky announced soon after White’s appearance on the Pat McAfee Show that MMA’s biggest promotion will partner with Drug Free Sport International to run its athlete anti-doping programme starting in 2024.
Novitzky will be one of the men who will play a key role in the new programme. He has handled multiple high-profile cases in the sports industry.
The 56-year-old led the group of Federal Investigators who looked into Armstrong’s case before USADA’s involvement in it. Armstrong won the Tour de France on seven consecutive occasions between 1999 and 2005.
The federal prosecutors officially dropped their investigation with no charges. However, the investigation also prompted USADA to take an interest in the issue – which would then result in Armstrong’s confession of his misconduct of using PEDs.
While he never faced any criminal charges, Armstrong’s confession to US chat show host Oprah Winfrey that he had been doping led to him being stripped of his titles.
Jeff Novitsky (left) will be one of the men who will play a key role in the new programme
Who are Drug Free Sport?
Drug Free Sport International (DFSI) is a global leader in the anti-doping industry with more than 24 years administering comprehensive anti-doping solutions for professional athletic organisations across the globe.
The DFSI is considered to be one of the world’s best anti-doping agencies. Based in Kansas City, it works with several major athletic organisations, including FIFA, MLB, NFL, NBA, and NCAA collegiate sports.
Their mission is to ‘help ensure the integrity of sports and to make mobile healthcare accessible to all.’
Novitzky revealed that the DFSI would begin handling sample collection for all athletes starting January 2024 and promised that the new programme would be ‘better’ than the one USADA had in place.
Some of the major changes that will be implemented include increasing the amount of blood testing, conducting oral fluid testing, performing tests for growth hormone-releasing factors on every sample, conducting dry blood spot testing, and increasing the amount of isotope ratio mass spectrometry testing to deter testosterone abuse.
What have fighters said about the news?
Following the news, several fighters within the roster have had their say on the changes within the company.
A lot of stars have seen the funny side, claiming that fans will now see a wide-range of ‘super athletes.’
Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson posted: ‘yall bout to start seeing some super athletes lol.’
Top welterweight contender Gilbert Burns took a swipe at McGregor following the news comparing a picture of him weighing at 145lbs and a recent snapshot of him looking jacked, captioning the post: ‘No more Usada? Fighters until December fighters in January.’
Sean Strickland, who defeated Israel Adesanya to become the new middleweight champion at UFC 293 posted: ‘You guys…. did you hear?!? We’re all gonna be juiced up soon!!!!!!!! Lmao…. #USADA Any recommendations? I’m kinda new at this….’
Several fighters have since given their reactions to the recent news regarding USADA
Former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns took a swipe at Conor McGregor on X
The current heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who has had a troubled past with multiple bans for positive drugs tests posted: ‘Man I survived USADA. First they said I was guilty of having picograms, then they considered me innocent, next picograms became legal. Guess what I’m still here, still unbeaten.
‘That BS no contest over DC needs to be taken off my record. I’ve never cheated this sport and I will stand by that until the Day I die.’
While fighters believe that they may be able to get away with anything following the change, if anything, it may become a lot tougher.
A former FBI agent will lead the charge
Along with Novitzky, former FBI agent George Piro has been hired by the company to serve as the new independent administrator of the UFC’s anti-doping programme.
‘I want to introduce, not in person here today but to the UFC world, the independent administrator of the UFC’s new and improved anti-doping program, George Piro,’ Novitzky said.
‘When you talk about George Piro, you’re talking about an individual with the highest level of integrity and credibility you can possibly imagine. While I had a noticeable federal law enforcement career, my resume pales in comparison to that of George Piro. And as I talk about George Piro, he’s quite literally an American hero.
Piro became an FBI agent in 1999 and was the lone agent who interrogated former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein after his capture by the U.S. in 2003.
Piro was able to gain the confidence of Hussein, seeing as he was one of the few FBI agents fluent in Arabic.
Former FBI agent George Piro has been hired by the company to serve as the new independent administrator of the UFC’s anti-doping programme
While Piro has no experience in the MMA industry, he is a regular in the jiu-jitsu gym
Hussein was eventually executed after being sentenced by an Iraqi court in 2006.
In a 2008 appearance on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” the former FBI agent detailed his experience interrogating Hussein, including how he worked to gain his trust.
Through conversations between the pair, Hussein confirmed to Piro that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction and denied links to al-Qaeda.
Piro also served as a Supervisor in the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. While he has never worked in the MMA industry before, he is a regular in the jiu-jitsu gym.
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