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In the world of MMA and the UFC, performance enhancing drugs are a major issue, with multiple fighters testing positive for a variety of them seemingly every year.
For the fans, it’s nearly impossible to work out which UFC fighters are using PED’s and which ones aren’t, and so over the years, some positive tests have shocked everyone, while other fighters have been accused with no proof.
With this in mind, here are five UFC fighters who shockingly tested positive for PEDs – and five who were accused of using but didn’t test positive.
#5. Tim Sylvia – former UFC heavyweight champion
It may seem crude, but the most common method used by fans to guess which UFC fighters might be using performance enhancing drugs is the so-called “eye test” – literally looking at a fighter’s physique and whether it looks overly pumped up or not.
Of course, such a crude method doesn’t always work, and one fighter who proved to be former heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia.
‘The Maine-Iac’ burst onto the scene in 2002, bringing a 13-0 record to the octagon, and after one impressive win, he was offered a shot at the heavyweight title, and duly claimed the gold by knocking out Ricco Rodriguez.
Despite his striking skills and huge frame, though, Sylvia certainly didn’t look like a bodybuilder – if anything, his physique was less than flattering.
That’s why fans were stunned when he tested positive for the anabolic steroid winstrol following his successful title defense against Gan McGee, resulting in him having to give up his title due to a suspension.
Interestingly, Sylvia later admitted to the infraction and outright stated that he’d used the drug to improve his physique, suggesting that he believed that looking more like a bodybuilder might help his marketability. Of course, given that the drugs didn’t give him rippling muscles, this wasn’t the case at all.
#4. Stephan Bonnar – former UFC light-heavyweight contender
The inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, which aired in early 2005, made stars of a number of fighters, but one of the UFC newcomers who really achieved popularity was Stephan Bonnar.
‘The American Psycho’ came out on the wrong end of a decision in his famous brawl with Forrest Griffin, but earned the love of the fans, and when he defeated opponents like James Irvin and Keith Jardine, it seemed like he was on the path to success.
The last thing anyone expected was for him to test positive for an anabolic steroid – particularly as his physique certainly didn’t suggest that he was using any kind of drugs.
However, Bonnar popped after his loss to Griffin in their rematch in the summer of 2006, and was subsequently banned for nine months.
Remarkably, it wasn’t Bonnar’s last positive test either, as he popped for another banned anabolic steroid following his 2013 clash with Anderson Silva, although he hadn’t fought in almost a year prior to the bout and was essentially in quasi-retirement.
Even in that instance, though, Bonnar never looked like a classic steroid user – showing that in the world of MMA, a book could never be judged by its cover.
#3. Josh Barnett – former UFC heavyweight champion
Many fans tend to believe that the UFC’s older days were somewhat of a Wild West, with fighters being able to use performance enhancing drugs however they saw fit, but while that might’ve been true in the early 90’s, by the time Zuffa bought the promotion out in 2001, that all changed.
One of the first victims of MMA’s push towards being regulated by genuine athletic commissions was Josh Barnett, who claimed the UFC heavyweight title by defeating Randy Couture in early 2002.
On the face of it, Barnett – who was certainly not a muscle-bound, ripped fighter by anyone’s standards – didn’t look anything like a fighter who was using PED’s, particularly anabolic steroids.
However, his post-fight sample was flagged for a “cocktail of three steroids”, and remarkably, it was later revealed that he’d also tested positive in an earlier fight, with the Nevada State Athletic Commission letting him off with a slap on the wrists.
Unsurprisingly, this time ‘The War Master’ was stripped of his newly-won title and banished from the promotion, not returning there until over a decade later.
The positive test was probably the first example of an MMA fighter who didn’t look like a classic steroid user being busted – shattering the myth of the muscle-bound steroid monster for good.
#2. Fabricio Werdum – former UFC heavyweight champion
By 2018, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum appeared to be on the final stretch of his lengthy MMA career, which dated back well over a decade.
‘Vai Cavalo’ had seen two stints with the promotion, but had undoubtedly reached his peak in 2015, when he unexpectedly claimed the heavyweight title by submitting Cain Velasquez. However, after dropping it to Stipe Miocic a year later, things had gone downhill slightly.
Early 2018 saw him TKO’d by Alexander Volkov in a defeat that basically knocked him out of title contention – but as he was already over 40 years old and had never boasted a hugely muscled physique, the last thing anyone expected was for him to test positive for steroids.
Incredibly, though, fans were left stunned when Werdum was removed from a planned fight with Alexei Oleinik due to a positive test for Trenbolone and slapped with a two-year suspension that was later downgraded to a ten month one.
For his part, Werdum denied that he’d used the substance – and seemingly using the classic “eye test”, his manager Ali Abdelaziz backed him up, stating that he “had the body of a 50-year old woman” to try to suggest that he couldn’t have been on steroids, despite the evidence suggesting otherwise.
#1. Anderson Silva – former UFC middleweight champion
Perhaps the most shocking positive drug test in UFC history took place in early 2015, when legendary former middleweight champion Anderson Silva popped for a pair of anabolic steroids following his win over Nick Diaz.
The fans and the promotion were both stunned by the positive test, as ‘The Spider’ didn’t really seem like anyone’s idea of an anabolic steroid user.
Not only had Silva never tested positive before – even in fights that saw some of his opponents test positive for a variety of banned substances – but with his lean, lanky physique, he certainly passed the so-called “eye test”.
More to the point, the Brazilian had always seemed like a consummate traditional martial artist, and certainly didn’t seem to have the personality of a fighter who’d dabble in drugs.
For his part, Silva denied ever knowingly using the substances, bizarrely blaming a tainted sexual enhancement drug from Thailand for the positive test, but it was hard not to see his legacy as being tainted somewhat by the whole issue.
The aftermath saw Silva suspended for 12 months – and upon his return, he won just one more fight before departing the promotion for good in 2019.
While the previous five fighters shocked the fans when they tested positive for PEDs, the following five were often accused of drug use without any true evidence.
#5. Johny Hendricks – former UFC welterweight champion
When Johny Hendricks first entered the UFC in 2009, he came in with the reputation of a blue-chip prospect thanks to his status as a two-time NCAA Division I national champion in amateur wrestling.
However, while his grappling and takedown defense were unsurprisingly excellent, it was the punching power of ‘Bigg Rigg’ that really put him on the map. He knocked out the likes of Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann to climb to the top of the welterweight division, eventually claiming gold in the octagon in 2014.
However, when Hendricks reportedly refused Georges St-Pierre’s request for both men to agree to more stringent drug testing through the VADA program before their 2013 bout, he found himself being accused of using PEDs to boost his strength.
These accusations only increased when Hendricks went on a major slide following the arrival of USADA testing into the UFC in 2015, resulting in him losing five of his last six fights before his retirement in 2017.
Unfortunately for his accusers, though, ‘Bigg Rigg’ never did test positive for any banned substance during his tenure with the promotion, suggesting that more than anything else, he simply didn’t want to pay any extra money for VADA testing in 2013.
#4. Paulo Costa – UFC middleweight contender
With his huge muscles, ripped physique and alpha male attitude, it’s hardly a surprise that plenty of people have accused former UFC middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa of using performance enhancing drugs, namely anabolic steroids.
A quick Google search of “Paulo Costa steroids” brings up countless discussions on various websites, while the Brazilian has even been accused of drug use by some of his opponents, namely Israel Adesanya – who labelled him “juiced to the gills” in 2020, and Luke Rockhold, who claimed that Costa’s “steroids aren’t working anymore” in a recent interview.
However, ‘The Eraser’ has never tested positive for any performance enhancers, despite being tested by USADA for each of his seven bouts inside the octagon. While he was suspended by them in 2019, it was due to the use of an IV to rehydrate following a weight cut, not for the use of any PED’s.
It’s safe to say, then, that in this instance, the “eye test” certainly isn’t infallible.
#3. Frank Mir – former UFC heavyweight champion
Okay, so it’s obviously not correct to say that Frank Mir never tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, as he popped for the banned substance Turanibol following his defeat to Mark Hunt in what was his final UFC appearance in 2016.
However, at the time, Mir was 37 years old and was firmly coming to the end of both his tenure with the promotion and his time as a top-level MMA fighter as a whole, so nobody was really that surprised to see him pop.
Back in 2009, though, it seemed like most of the UFC’s fanbase expected Mir to test positive for some kind of anabolic steroid when he suddenly ballooned in weight following his defeat to Brock Lesnar.
Seemingly overnight, Mir blew up from a svelte 245lbs for his clash with Lesnar to a heavily muscled 265lbs for his fight with Cheick Kongo just five months later – resulting in plenty of suspicion.
However, Mir never tested positive, and explained that while there was probably a way around the various drug tests used by the UFC, it would be “a lot of stress” to do so. He also put his added muscle down to working with a former strongman contestant to “add bulk and strength the right way”.
Given what happened in 2016, there’ll always be some question marks over Mir’s sudden muscle gain in 2009, but based on the evidence, it’s hard not to think that the accusations back then were baseless.
#2. Israel Adesanya – UFC middleweight champion
Reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya certainly doesn’t look like a classic user of anabolic steroids. His physique is remarkably lean, he doesn’t rely on superhuman strength or insane cardio to win his fights, and more importantly, he’s never tested positive before.
However, when he defeated Paulo Costa at UFC 253 in September 2020, he appeared to be sporting a swollen right pectoral muscle, something that looked like a clear-cut sign of gynecomastia.
Given that the issue – which sees males develop breast tissue, usually due to a hormone imbalance – can be caused by the abuse of anabolic steroids, many fans immediately jumped to the conclusion that ‘The Last Stylebender’ was cheating.
No positive test was ever recorded, though, despite Adesanya being checked by USADA on multiple occasions, and a few months after the fight, the champion stated that the issue was down to an overuse of marijuana.
He also vehemently denied any steroid abuse – but stated that “after a performance like that, I’d think I was on steroids too”. As of the time of writing, Adesanya has still never tested positive – making any accusations against him largely unfair.
#1. Georges St-Pierre – former UFC welterweight champion
Despite passing every drug test that he ever took during his UFC career, and even pushing for more stringent drug testing prior to the promotion’s deal with USADA, legendary former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was unable to avoid accusations of using PEDs over the years.
Not only did his incredible physique often garner the suspicions of fans, with multiple online discussions often devoted to the subject, but he wasn’t safe from the accusations of his opponents, either.
Nick Diaz, who lost to St-Pierre in March 2013, not only claimed that the Canadian was on steroids during the fight, but also accused him of missing weight too, an allegation that was completely baseless.
Josh Koscheck made similar accusations in 2010 – while also stating that he’d been told by BJ Penn, another former opponent of GSP’s, that the Canadian had used steroids and HGH.
Finally, Michael Bisping levied similar accusations at St-Pierre prior to their 2017 clash, something that didn’t sit kindly with GSP’s coach Firas Zahabi, who stated that his fighter had “never failed one single test, and just because someone’s lean and extremely competent in fighting doesn’t mean they’re on drugs”.
Based on St-Pierre’s test results, it was hard not to agree with his coach.
