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The UFC has transcended the gap from relative obscurity to a household name across the world in a few decades. As with most sporting organizations, performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) are a cause for major concern amongst athletes and fans alike.
In an attempt to make the sport drug-free, the UFC was initially aided by the respective State Athletic Commissions (SAC), who conducted drug tests on fighters. However, the SACs were termed as 'kangaroo courts' owing to a disproportionate tilt of power in their favor, the lack of an impartial adjudicator, and unclear rules.
Thereafter, the UFC tied up with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for independent third-party tests in 2015. After a warm reception, USADA was criticized for punishing athletes even when they ingested a drug unknowingly. USADA's UFC policy states:
“It is not necessary that intent, fault, negligence or knowing use on the athlete’s part be demonstrated in order to establish an Anti-Doping Policy Violation.”
Despite considerable attempts by the UFC to reduce PED abuse, stray incidents have continued to plague the promotion. In this article, we look at five fighters whose careers have taken a plunge due to failed drug tests:
#5. Chael Sonnen (UFC middleweight and light heavyweight)
Chael Sonnen was riding a three-fight win-streak when he faced Anderson Silva for the first time at UFC 117. Despite dominating the middleweight champion for 23 minutes of the fight, Sonnen was submitted with a triangle choke.
To make matters worse, the post-fight drug tests showed elevated testosterone levels for Oregon native. Sonnen came up with various excuses in his defense. He brought his endocrinologist before the CSAC to discuss his need for Testosterone Replacement Therapy. The CSAC upheld the one-year suspension, and Sonnen was unable to coach the 14th season of The Ultimate Fighter against Michael Bisping.
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While Chael Sonnen made a successful comeback a year later, he again tested positive for banned substances later in his career. After a failed drug test, Sonnen was pulled out of his light-heavyweight clash against Vitor Belfort, scheduled for UFC 175. However, Sonnen refused to apologize and insisted that the substances he tested positive for were not performance-enhancing.
#4. Josh Barnett (UFC heavyweight)
There may be no one more familiar with failure than Josh Barnett when it comes to PED usage in MMA. A three-time offender, Barnett has arguably suffered more for his failed drug tests than any other fighter in history.
Josh 'The Babyfaced Assassin' Barnett won the UFC heavyweight championship by defeating Randy Couture at UFC 36. However, it would be a short title reign as Barnett's drug tests came back positive for boldenone, nandrolone and fluoxymesterone. Apart from being stripped of his title, Josh Barnett was also handed a six-month suspension from the NSAC. As drug testing wasn't prevalent in the UFC's earliest years, Barnett believed he was set up and blamed the promotion for his failure.
According to reports, Josh Barnett had previously tested positive for two different anabolic steroids following his victory over Bobby Hoffman at UFC 34. While he was let off with a warning, Barnett's first positive steroid test inspired Nevada to regularly test UFC fighters for performance-enhancing drugs.
In 2009, Josh Barnett single-handedly brought down the Affliction organization by testing positive for drostanolone 11 days before a highly anticipated bout with Fedor Emelianenko.
#3. Jon Jones (UFC light heavyweight)
There is always going to be a question mark over Jon Jones' greatness, owing to the controversies he has been involved in outside of the octagon.
However, there has been nothing more detrimental to his fight career than the four-year ban he faced for failing the USADA drug test one day before his rematch against Daniel Cormier at UFC 214.
But this was neither the first nor the last time Jon Jones tested positive for a banned substance. 'Bones' had previously been handed a one-year suspension by the USADA due to a failed drug test before his UFC 200 clash against Daniel Cormier. Jones would use the same performance-enhancing substance before his fight against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232, leading to a shift in venue for the event from Las Vegas to Los Angeles on a six-day notice.
While Jon Jones maintains he hasn't been cheating intentionally, his achievements inside the octagon will always remain controversial.
#2. Nick Diaz (UFC welterweight)
A proponent and user of medical marijuana, UFC welterweight Nick Diaz has probably been the most unfortunate victim of the USADA era.
His first failure occurred after the biggest win of his career at Pride 33, where he defeated former lightweight kingpin Takanori Gomi with a Hail Mary Gogoplata. However, Diaz's test results came back, showing his THC levels at 175. The win was overturned to a No Contest and Nick Diaz was slammed with a $3000 fine.
Almost five years after the Pride episode, Nick Diaz would fail another post-fight drug test after his UFC 143 outing against Carlos Condit.
Diaz most recently tested positive for a third time after fighting Anderson Silva at UFC 183. Apart from imposing a fine of $165,000, the NSAC also banned the Stockton native for five years.
The huge setback seems unfair to Nick Diaz as USADA recently removed marijuana from its list of banned substances altogether.
#1. T.J. Dillashaw (UFC bantamweight)
T.J. Dillashaw headlines UFC Vegas 32 opposite fellow bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen this Saturday.
This will be the first fight for the former two-division UFC champion since 2019 after a failed bid to capture the flyweight title from Henry Cejudo.
After getting knocked out by 'Triple C,' T.J. Dillashaw was handed a two-year ban by USADA for testing positive for recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO). While Dillashaw expressed disappointment at the adverse finding, he didn't explicitly deny using any banned substances.
Apart from being stripped of his bantamweight strap, T.J. Dillashaw was also handed a $10,000 fine. Later on, Dillashaw accepted responsibility for his actions with a promise to mend his ways.
