UFC Fighters, Don't Do USADA's Job
Or Stop Snitchin'
Welcome to the latest C’mon Now newsletter. This is the place where I’ll share my thoughts on all the goings-on in MMA. Those thoughts could range from media criticism to advice for folks looking to get into MMA writing to why certain fighters or managers are not good for the sport.
This post looks at the ugliness that is USADA’s substantial assistance policy.
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Well, what do you know, Fabricio Werdum is coming back to the UFC. If you recall, the former heavyweight champion was suspended for two years in 2018 when he [tested positive] for the steroid trenbolone and its metabolite epitrenbolone during an out of competition drug test conducted by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Per MMA Junkie, “Trenbolone, a steroid marketed for veterinary and clinical uses, is a non-specified substance in the class of anabolic agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC’s anti-doping program.”
Not long after he was notified of the violation, Werdum called the drug test result, “a misunderstanding” and that he, his team, the UFC and USADA were trying to understand what happened.
A few months after that, Werdum’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told MMA Fighting that Werdum was done and that he hoped the UFC would release Werdum from his contract. He was also critical of USADA at that time.
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“USADA is fake, they’re a fraud,” said Abdelaziz before adding, “I think Fabricio will be fighting in Russia (next), to be honest with you. I need the UFC’s blessing for this. I want their blessing.”
Well, the UFC, obviously reluctant to give another promoter a fighter for nothing, did not release Werdum and with the fighter retiring, USADA tolled his suspension.
In January, USADA announced that Werdum’s suspension would be reduced to 10 months and that he would be eligible to return to the octagon on April 1, 2020. The reason for the shortened suspension — substantial assistance.
In the parlance of our times, substantial assistance would be called snitching.
Substantial assistance is when “an athlete facing a period of ineligibility who provides information that leads to the discovery of another violation or which results in a criminal or disciplinary body discovering an offense, is eligible for a sanction reduction.”
In simpler words, that boils down to snitching on a bigger name. Which is unseemly.
The funniest/saddest thing about all this is that had Werdum just accepted the two-year suspension at the time it was administered and not retired, he would have been eligible to return in late May of this year. But that didn’t happen. Instead, Abdelaziz seemed to count on his good relationship with the UFC in the hopes of scoring Werdum a release from the promotion, which obviously bit Werdum in the ass.
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Werdum now joins Thibault Gouti, Paulo Costa, and Jon Jones on the list of UFC fighters who have utilized the USADA snitch clause to help get themselves reduced sentences.
No one should offer substantial assistance to USADA. First, that’s performing USADA’s job for them. Second, it helps the UFC sow the seeds of discontent between fighters, which is a barrier toward organization and obtaining the strength and benefits an organized labor force can achieve as a unified force.
