When the UFC began its anti-doping program a year ago, it was hailed as a landmark moment for a sport with a soiled reputation. Since then, the program, administered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), has generally been seen as a success, offering the first-ever year-round random testing in MMA.
For the calendar year so far, USADA has conducted 985 total tests and caught some big names in the process. The latest is Brock Lesnar, who was informed of a potential violation on Friday, less than a week after defeating Mark Hunt at UFC 200.
The money, however, is mostly in the bank. Lesnar earned a record disclosed purse of $2.5 million for the fight, and he has millions more coming to him based on a cut of the pay-per-view. The beating of Hunt—137-landed strikes of Lesnar's 5XL gloves, according to FightMetric —also cannot be taken back.
If the test's veracity is verified—and it must be noted that Lesnar still has a right to test the B sample and to mount a defense—then the UFC has some of Hunt's blood on its hands. Yes, the responsibility mainly lies with Lesnar. He is in charge of what he puts into his body. But the UFC played the key role in rushing him to the cage and bypassing the very program it put into place.
When the UFC and USADA reached an agreement to conduct testing, the UFC inserted several vague clauses in the policy that gave them some control in the process. One of them was Article 5.7.1, which requires an athlete returning from retirement to give four months' written notice prior to returning, offering USADA a four-month testing window prior to the athlete stepping into the cage. UFC, however, added a proviso: that it may grant a waiver of the rule "in exceptional circumstances or where the strict application of that rule would be manifestly unfair to an Athlete."
What might qualify as "exceptional circumstances," you ask? Well, take a pay-per-view with a round number, throw in a major draw and sprinkle in a questionable decision that hurt the event's marketability, and there you go.
To the UFC, Brock Lesnar and UFC 200 were an exceptional circumstance. That's all it took, and from the beginning, it was a dubious use for an unnecessary rule.
The UFC tried to explain the situation about a month ago, when Lesnar first signed his bout contract and entered the testing pool, telling MMA Fighting that since he last competed in 2011, before the Anti-Doping Policy went into effect, he was being treated similarly to a new athlete just joining the organization.
Doesn't get much worse for UFC if rent-a-star Brock Lesnar has tested positive.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 15, 2016
Mark Hunt is demanding half Brock Lesnar's purse (about 1.2 million) or release from #UFC. Baller move to punish promoting a cheat. #MMA
— Danny Acosta (@AcostaIsLegend) July 16, 2016
That hardly sounds like an "exceptional circumstance," or anything that would be "manifestly unfair" to him. It's just a reason, and hardly a good one. After all, Lesnar had been negotiating with the UFC for months prior to announcing his surprise return. The UFC knew he wanted to return, but because it was Lesnar and because it was UFC 200, a landmark event solely because of those three digits, the UFC gave him a pass.
Worse, when Lesnar finally was enrolled in the program, the UFC and USADA failed to expedite his test results. Instead, results of the June 28 test lingered well past the show date, making them worthless in terms of prohibiting Lesnar from competing. To use the policy's own terminology, that seems "manifestly unfair" to Hunt.
The ridiculousness of the situation is that the UFC completely set itself up in creating a scenario necessary to waive the clause and rush Lesnar's return.
Remember, UFC 200 was originally set up to showcase Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, a rematch that was expected to pull huge numbers. However, when McGregor pushed back on media responsibilities, the UFC quickly booted him from the card.
Back then, in April, the UFC essentially claimed it needed a three-month promotional window and that McGregor's unwillingness to do all of the press led to his removal.
It was a nonsense, knee-jerk decision and was exposed as such in time, setting in motion a series of events that left its decision-makers scrambling for an attraction to pull in the masses and deliver a huge number. So instead of having the verbose McGregor for almost three months of lead-up, they pushed Lesnar into the fray on one month's notice.
Lesnar did a fraction of the media and now leaves dragging the UFC's reputation behind him.
That's what happens when the three-month promotional window takes precedence over the four-month drug testing one.
The kicker to the story is that Lesnar is mostly beyond punishment, anyway.
At 39 years old, he hadn't fought in five years and has a job with the WWE making seven figures a year. He doesn't need MMA anymore and is mostly untouchable. USADA could suspend him for two years, and it really wouldn't matter. The Nevada Athletic Commission, which also retains jurisdiction in the matter, can fine Lesnar, but it can't force him to pay it. The only motivation for fighters to pay commission fines is a fear of not being able to obtain a license in the future, but if Lesnar decides he's done, there is no way of actually collecting the money. Meanwhile, the UFC's anti-doping policy provides for fines up to $500,000, a small percentage of Lesnar's overall take from the event.
The UFC's program with USADA has mostly been a success. It was a step in the right direction, and one worthy of praise. But drug testing cannot offer shortcuts. The UFC did that with Lesnar, and it appears to have backfired. For that, it deserves condemnation. Lesnar failed the test, but UFC failed one, too.
