In the sport of mixed martial arts, being able to have an advantage – even if it’s merely an inch - can determine the difference between winning or losing. It wasn’t until recently that the UFC implemented a heavier approach to fighting banned substances in and out of competition.
Since then, fans have bared witness to disciplinary action against some of the greatest talents they grew up knowing as being practically invincible in the cage.
Unfortunately, some fighters’ legacies have been tarnished by the UFC’s crack down on banned substances because what aided them in gaining the advantage in the old days was really just a form of flat out cheating.
Of course, that isn’t to say that all fighters before the anti-doping era were on performance enhancing drugs, but as we continue the journey into the new era of the UFC, the ones that relied on the assistance of performance enhancing drugs are becoming more and more exposed.
But at the same time, because these parameters for anti-doping are so tight, fighters who aren’t using drugs that provide performance enhancing benefits are also being slammed by athletic commissions.
Here are Sportskeeda’s top 5 high-profile drug scandals in UFC history.
#1 Nick Diaz
You must have an impressive following if, after a highly publicised failed drug test, you gain even greater momentum with the fans. Both the Diaz brothers have always been major fan favourites and Nick has been the spearhead of controversy for the two brothers.
It really came as no surprise to the MMA community when Diaz was hit with a failed drug test involving marijuana after UFC 182. But what they were surprised by was the extent of his punishment.
Also read: 5 Drug scandals that WWE want you to forget
The Nevada State Athletic Commission showed no mercy for Diaz after returning a tainted sample laced with the drug, by slapping him with a whopping 5-year ban and a $150,000 fine.
The shock factor from the punishment was so high that people began using the term “Free Diaz” on social media to address the issue, because, in a way, the commission had halted the welterweight’s form of income for an entire 5 years due to the ban.
#2 Thiago Silva
It seems that no matter what Silva does in his mixed martial arts career, he is just naturally bound to end up on negative lists, including this one covering various scandalous drug scandals.
Silva is best known for this run-in with the law that cost him his UFC contract and his reputation as a potential heavyweight contender.
Since then, his entire career has been diced with controversy and he has topped that with a failed drug test. But interestingly enough, despite being fined $33,750 by the NSAC and being given a 12-month ban, it wasn’t for a contaminated substance.
Silva’s ban was for offering a false sample to the commission, which inadvertently could have meant that Silva was potentially trying to hide something all along. Instead of offering his own urine to the commission, he gave them a specimen that was not of a human.
It’s fair to say, Silva was certainly trying to avoid being caught.
#3 Wanderlei Silva
The Brazilian middleweight literally made his career off of being an ultra-aggressive bully and a man that could put your lights out immediately. We now know that perhaps a lot of those aggressive qualities came from his substance abuse while in competition.
Once the UFC took the reins on fighting banned substances in and out of competition, fighters just like Silva - who made their careers flying high on what we could say were performances enhanced by banned substances - began to feel the heat.
When coaching The Ultimate Fighter Brazil against another middleweight who’s been in the limelight for banned substance abuse, Chael Sonnen, he flat out refused to undergo random drug testing before their fight. Ultimately, it cost Silva his career in the UFC and a pretty penny.
He was fined by the NSAC $70,000 and was also slapped with a lifetime ban.
#4 Anderson Silva
The almighty middleweight king is left in the same boat as veteran Wanderlei Silva. His failed drug tests make fans wonder - how much of his illustrious career was due to his abuse of banned substances (if there was any major use of it?).
Unfortunately, we’ll never know the answer, but his legacy was certainly tarnished after failing his post-fight drug test. After facing Nick Diaz at UFC 183, it was announced that the Brazilian had been flagged for a variety of banned substances that Silva later remarked were from a tainted sexual enhancement pill he got from a friend in Thailand.
The commission certainly didn’t fall for his excuse and retracted of his full win bonus from the bout, as well as 30% of his show money, totalling $380,000. To top it off, his victory against Diaz was overturned to a no contest.
Lo and behold, since then Silva has not failed a drug test, but his age has certainly shown to creep up on him after 4-straight losses, one no contest and only one victory.
#5 Jon Jones
It always seems to be the ones at the very top; the ones whose lives are magnificent to our eyes but perhaps darker on the inside. Jones is the most unfortunate example of drug scandals in UFC history because of his inability over the years to rebound.
It all began (at least on the surface) after UFC 182 when it was announced that Jones had failed a pre-fight test for cocaine. He was later stripped of his UFC light heavyweight title and also found himself in the grip of a controversial hit-and-run accident, which kept him out of competition until last year.
He finally returned to face Ovince Saint-Preux where he won the interim UFC light heavyweight title but was once again stripped of it before UFC 200 for another anti-doping test failure, which banned him from competition for yet another year.
Jones still has a mighty presence on social media but we have yet to see the former light heavyweight king compete again in his prime.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
