In a surprising move, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced that it will be terminating its partnership with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) as of January 2024.
USADA has been the UFC’s independent drug testing partner since 2015. However, the relationship has soured over the mandatory testing window for Conor McGregor’s comeback. USADA CEO Travis Tygart stated that the UFC’s leaders and a commentator’s recent comments made the partnership “untenable”. Tygart may be referring to Joe Rogan, a popular podcaster and longtime UFC commentator, who called for the end of the association with USADA due to the six-month testing window and the ban on certain peptides. Tygart expressed his discontent in a written statement:
“Given the statements made by UFC leaders and others questioning USADA’s stance on allowing McGregor to fight without being in the testing pool for at least six months, the relationship with USADA and UFC has become untenable. One UFC commentator also voiced this concern, stating that USADA should not oversee the UFC program and criticized us for enforcing the six-month rule for McGregor and not allowing fighters to use performance-enhancing drugs for healing or injuries without an approved medical basis.”
Although McGregor has recently joined the testing pool again, it remains uncertain whether he will undergo the full six-month testing period as USADA’s partnership with the UFC will end on January 1, 2024. Tygart also claimed that the Las Vegas-based promotion reversed its position on October 9th despite having a positive meeting about contract renewal in May.
Under the current policy, fighters must have at least two negative drug screenings and be in the testing pool for a minimum of six months before they can compete. The promotion has only sought and obtained an exemption from this policy once, for Brock Lesnar at UFC 200 in 2016. Lesnar’s victory against Mark Hunt was later overturned to a no contest after he failed a post-fight drug screening. Hunt subsequently sued the UFC for negligence but was unsuccessful.
UFC commentator Brendan Fitzgerald confirmed on social media that drug testing will continue to be conducted by another third party. He also hinted that McGregor’s re-entry into the pool suggests his intention to undergo the required six-month testing period.
