Fans slam USADA after PFL catches ex-UFC fighter for PED use upon entry

The first part of the PFL heavyweight and light heavyweight season took place in Las Vegas, and the results showed that four competitors, including a former UFC light heavyweight title challenger, tested positive for banned substances.

Both Thiago Santos and Krzysztof Jotko, who made their PFL debuts in April after extensive careers in the UFC, have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Santos was defeated by 2022 PFL champion Rob Wilkinson in the co-main event of PFL 1, while Jotko was defeated by Will Fleury via unanimous decision in the same event.

Besides that, heavyweight contenders Bruno Cappelozza and Rizvan Kuniev have also tested positive. It is worth noting that both Thiago Santos and Krzysztof Jotko train at the American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Fight fans were quick to point out that the independent anti-doping body that controls the world leader in MMA, USADA (The United States Anti-Doping body), failed to catch the athletes who were caught cheating in the PFL. One fan wrote:

"Funny PFL catches a lot more users than ufc and they supposedly have this strong USADA testing."

Another fan noticed a trend in the two fighters from the same training camps being caught for doping at the same event:

"They all train at American Top Team and get their juice from a clinic in Boca Raton called 4ever Young. Hilarious they didn’t catch Tibau even after he had the logo of the testosterone clinic on his fight shorts."

Yet another fan wrote:

"So he survived USADA for years then pops as soon as he leaves wtf."

Check out some of the tweets below:

Check out some more reactions below:

via @mmafighting on Instagram

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Fans slam USADA: Rob Wilkinson demands the purse of former UFC fighter Thiago Santos who recently tested positive for PED use

The PFL 1 card at The Theatre at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas featured several former UFC stars.

Recent years have seen a rise in the number of former UFC athletes seeking a second-wind career path in the PFL. The aforementioned event marked the promotional debut of Thiago Santos against Rob Wilkinson.

Santos entered the bout having lost five of his previous six, while Wilkinson had won the PFL light heavyweight tournament last year. Santos lost another unanimous decision to Wilkinson in a battle that had little action on either side.

It has now come to light that Santos was fighting under the influence of performance-enhancing drugs. Rob Wilkinson reacted to the news under the Instagram post by MMA Fighting by writing:

"Give me those bonus points and his purse then!"

Check out the comment below:

via @mmafighting on Instagram