LOL @ not already doing this and ponying up a measly $1.5 million.
"We have to have a rapport with these guys," White told Yahoo! Sports Wednesday. "We're not the police, we're not the commission, we're not their mothers or their fathers. If you do something stupid, at least be honest with us so we can help you deal with it and fix it.
"He lied straight to our faces. That has me so [expletive] angry, I can't even tell you. He said to us, 'The last thing you have to worry about is me popping. I'm the most-tested athlete in the world.' Yeah, [expletive] right."
The solution is one that White has resisted embracing. It's to implement a comprehensive policy that includes random unannounced testing on each fighter at least twice a year run by an accredited agency.
Dr. Margaret Goodman, a Las Vegas neurologist and the former chairwoman of the medical advisory board of the Nevada Athletic Commission, founded a company called the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.
She said a program that would test all of the fighters under contract to White and Fertitta twice a year would cost between $1 million and $1.5 million a year.
Goodman acknowledged it is an expensive proposition, but noted that it's the cost of guaranteeing a clean sport. The doomsday scenario for the UFC would be for a fighter to be seriously injured or killed in a fight and for it to turn out that the opponent had been artificially enhanced by steroids.
Were that to occur, the billion-dollar empire that White and Fertitta have worked more than a decade to build would be at serious risk.
"Hey, it's got to be more cost effective than having a big fight like this that they were advertising and that a lot of people would buy and now they don't have that fight," Goodman said. "What are the expenses of that, besides looking at the actual health issues. I think it would probably even out.
"Their [fighters] would probably be healthier, because if it wasn't so easy for them to use performance-enhancing drugs, there probably wouldn't be as many injuries as they're getting. Obviously, on the minor scale of what testosterone use can do is cause tendon injuries and predispose them to all kinds of bone and joint problems. I'm not saying that's why these guys are getting hurt, but you take that factor out and you make it a lot less likely."
The ufc hasnt done this because they know what will happen if they start randomly testing every fighter...it will not be pretty. And this goes for all sports
Kevin has done some great work here researching things and its a compelling idea. But ultimately, it wouldn't matter to me because you could not trust testing that the UFC itself paid for. There's a huge conflict of interest there
Obie1FaShobie - The ufc hasnt done this because they know what will happen if they start randomly testing every fighter...it will not be pretty. And this goes for all sports
No. They wouldn't keep it a secret. You seem to be imagining testing starting NOW, with no warning.
They'd say: On January 1st 2013, and onward, fighters must declare one hour every day, to an independed drug testing agency, where they will be available for drop-in and randomized tests.
Of course, they won't be visited every single day, but the POSSIBLITY of this, makes PEDs impossible.
And the 8 month time gives plenty of opportunity to flush and reset.
This how WADA does it, and they test for a bunch of sports.
The fact that this system is not already implemented proves 100% clearly that Zuffa and MMA does not at all care about PEDs.
So when events get destroyed like UFC 146 seems to be, it's the fault of the sport itself, not just Overeem. His only crime, really, under the current system, is getting caught.
Truth is this is the perfect moment for Dana & co. to show they are serious about drug testing. They had 6 guys tested randomly and 1 of them failed. So it isn't as big a hassle as he likes to pretend it is. But I fully expect him to just continue on and act like it is out of his control.
The doomsday scenario for the UFC would be for a fighter to be seriously injured or killed in a fight and for it to turn out that the opponent had been artificially enhanced by steroids.
When a fighter does something against the rules and illegal (PEDs) I would certainly think the organization would be held-harmless in court. That's my 2¢.
I think this is a great idea, but holy shit at the cost. It's nothing to the UFC, but 1.5 million dollars to test ~300 fighters (pulled that number out of my ass because I couldn't find a current list) twice a year seems exorbitant. Roughly $1,250 to do piss and/or blood work per fighter per test? I'm in the wrong industry! Hopefully they are including the Strikeforce roster in that number as well, but I doubt it.
By the way I just looked at the "List of Current UFC fighters" wiki page to try and get the actual number of fighters under contract and some UG'er is bored. Overeem is under recent cuts and Fedor is under recent signings.
lol at 1 to 1.5m... Zuffa can order 2 tests per fighter per year and it wouldnt even amount to 500k.... someone is trying to make an extra buck out of this...
The doomsday scenario for the UFC would be for a fighter to be seriously injured or killed in a fight and for it to turn out that the opponent had been artificially enhanced by steroids.
When a fighter does something against the rules and illegal (PEDs) I would certainly think the organization would be held-harmless in court. That's my 2¢.
Well the organization may be held liable if they knowingly promoted the use of steroids for their athletes. But ultimately, the main harm comes from a business perspective. If someone gets seriously injured, and its found out that the opponent was using steroids; the UFC (and MMA) would look really bad to the media. It would be unlikely to be granted licenses for unlicensed states (New York); they would lose a ton of sponsorship money from major sponsors; and it would just be bad for the business all around.
MMALOGIC - lol at 1 to 1.5m... Zuffa can order 2 tests per fighter per year and it wouldnt even amount to 500k.... someone is trying to make an extra buck out of this...
Agreed and it seems to me like Dr. Goodman is trying to cash in on a new business.
I stopped reading after he said, "Dr. Margaret Goodman. . .". I don't care what facet she would be used for, her ignorant ass needs to stay away from anything MMA related.
