The tides first started to shift when the UFC got rid of testosterone exemptions. Vitor Belfort looked softer, Chael had to quit the sport, and guys like Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson weren’t looking like their usual selves either. That’s all relatively minor compared to the new policies that were announced in July.
UFC brass announcing the new policies.
For starters, a fighter who fails a drug test is facing a 2-4 year suspension for their first offence. The icing on the cake is that the UFC is working with USADA to randomly test fighters year-round, even when they aren’t signed to fight anytime soon, which makes trying to cycle on and off of steroids a total roll of the dice.
When the UFC was more or less turning a blind eye to steroids, and it was more of an IQ test than a drug test. It was worth the risk for most fighters to gain any advantage they could. Now that it’s a lot harder to try to cheat the system, and the consequences can be career-ending, so it’s no wonder that many fighters are starting to look less jacked.
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