UFC 205's Chris Weidman on Yoel Romero: 'I want to make him pay' for failed drug test

NEW YORK – Chris Weidman has been a career-long advocate of punishing steroid and banned substance users to the harshest degree no matter the circumstances around a test failure. He doesn’t feel any differently about UFC 205 opponent Yoel Romero.

Romero (11-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who fights Weidman (13-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC 205 pay-per-view main card following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass at Madison Square Garden in New York, flunked an out-of-competition drug test from the U.S. Anti-Doping Association (USADA) earlier this year. It was ultimately determined Romero had ingested tainted supplements, and instead of a full two-year punishment, he was suspended for just six months.

That doesn’t sit well with Weidman, he said. So on top of looking for the win in his home state of New York and trying to lock up a shot to fight for the UFC middleweight title he lost in December, he wants to further punish Romero for his situation.

“It’s not just one motivation (for this fight), there’s many of them,” Weidman told MMAjunkie. “He’s an undefeated guy in the UFC – some question-mark fights, but he’s undefeated. Competition-wise, I’m competitive and I want to go out and beat this guy. Obviously the implications are that I’m fighting for the belt after this, so the sky’s the limit. Fighting for (a chance to go after) the belt in Madison Square Garden, fighting for the first time ever at this historical event is motivation. Obviously getting back to where I need to be, winning money so I can support my family. He’s failed drug tests – I want to make him pay for that. Cheaters never prosper and I want to show that.”

Tainted supplements have been a common excuse trotted out by fighters since the USADA drug testing program for the UFC came into place. Athletes rarely take complete fault when the situation occurs, and that irritates Weidman, he said. Whether the reasoning is legitimate or not Weidman firmly believes punishments should be the same across the board, and said fighters are still finding ways to game the system despite stricter testing.

“I really have a hard time believing all that crap (about gained supplements),” Weidman said. “There’s things these guys are doing and their either taking steroids and they have doctors and supplements ready to go that could possibly be tainted and it’s going to be the same thing they’re taking that if they do fail, hopefully they don’t, but if they do fail they have it ready to send to USADA.”

If Weidman, No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, beats No. 4-ranked Romero at UFC 205, he said he has been guaranteed the next shot at current 185-pound champion Michael Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC).

Bisping has said he wants to fight Weidman as well, but also said that he would not accept a bout with Romero because of his history related to banned substances, intentional or not. Weidman is clearly not planning to lose the fight, but said he agrees with Bisping’s philosophy and reiterated he wants career-ending penalties for anyone who fails a drug test.

“I actually might agree with him,” Weidman said. “He did some research and if you do steroids for a long time the benefits can last. I think things need to change. If you do steroids, PEDs, you need to be done. I really think it should be over for you in this sport. It’s not like you’re hitting a ball out of a park. You’re trying to take someone’s head off. It’s a whole different animal. These guys need to be cleaned up. They need to be out. I agree with Bisping.”

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