GSP & Kos discuss Olympic PED Testing

[VCURamFan]

GSP: "Yes, let's do it"
Kos: "I heard from this guy that his sister's ex-boyfriend was going to the bathroom at a show & overheard a conversation in the stall next to him between these two guys who said they trained at this gym in Canada someplace & at a bar nearby, a bum mumbled something about "steroids" & "GSP". Clearly he's a juicer, so test him."

John Morgan of MMAJunkie reports on desire of both Georges St-Pierre and Josh Koscheck to endure Olympic-style drug testing prior to their championship fight tentatively scheduled for December 11th.

Payout Perspective:
I’m again reminded of an interview with USADA’s CEO Travis Tygart, published some months ago, that broke down why the current testing standards for combat sport athletes are completely inadequate.


Yet, while no one is willing to argue that there isn’t a problem, there remains a very serious question as to whether wide-scale Olympic-style drug testing is financially and logistically feasible at this point in time. Think about how much would it cost to test an entire card taking into consideration the following:

• 20-24 fighters
• 2-3 months
• Multiple trips to visit each fighter (spread throughout North America and some across the globe)
• Laboratory costs that include not just urine, but also sophisticated blood work

Perhaps the UFC can afford to support this effort, but it would certainly be difficult for lower-tier organizations to follow suit. I also wonder how that sort of double standard might be crafted under commission regulations.


Then again, maybe the sport doesn’t need full drug testing: the point of testing is to deter the majority, not test every single competitor to completely remove all doubt. I could envision an effective program that mandates truly random, full-scale drug testing – a program that checks for everything – but doesn’t guarantee the frequency of commission visits or even that a particular fighter will be tested at all until fight night. The mere threat of the unforeseen visit would likely be enough to deter PED use, and those that took a chance would eventually be caught (their examples to serve as further deterrents).

It’s a system that probably still has some holes – for instance, how are fighters deterred from using PEDs when they’re not signed to bout agreements? – but it could prove to be a solid start.

I guess if you can't beat GSP, he must be on roids ... LOL

Originally Posted by rearnakedchoke

I guess if you can't beat GSP, he must be on roids ... LOL

I agree.... I really hate baseless accusations against any athlete... It's pathetic.

[J.B.]

I think it's utterly hilarious how much of a ripple effect Floyd Mayweather has on the whole fight world. If he's not baiting the UFC into competing with him, he's got the fighters ticked off because he's cashing 30 million dollar paychecks, and now the Nevada State Athletic Commission is going to hold a hearing on possibly reforming their drug testing standards after reviewing the drug-testing protocol that Mayweather and Mosley went through for their fight on May 1st.

YES, we need the absolute best testing available, and this is something the commissions should have already mandated a long time ago. At least GSP didn't pull a Manny Pacquiao and give people a song and dance about how taking blood before a fight makes him weak. When asked, he said "Yes, let's do it".

Actually, I think in a small way, we should thank Manny Pacquiao for acting so suspicious, because it really has opened up a discussion that needs to be addressed. Of course there will always be ways to beat the system as it's a constantly evolving science, but one of the things that USADA does is retain the blood samples to be tested at a later time when testing is better. Such as with Floyd/Shane, they both agreed to have their samples retained for 8 years, and if they were to ever be found guilty of doping, they would have to forfeit their purse and the fight would be ruled a "No Contest".

People are entitled to their opinions, and the fighters know how rampant the problem of PED's is in Boxing/MMA, and in all sports for that matter. I don't have a problem with Koscheck being suspicious of GSP, but I would have a problem if GSP didn't openly comply with random testing.

[J.B.]

Another thing that it is important to note is that the author makes a common mistake when discussing this issue.

True "Olympic Style" testing, refers to the actual testing plan that is implemented in the Olympics. The USADA is the organization that conducts those tests, under WADA guidelines for the American Olympic team. The USADA and the WADA guidelines are very detailed, and it requires a phase where specific planning is done to best serve the sport or event they are overseeing. Not all Olympic athletes from each sport are tested exactly the same, but the one constant is that the athlete NEVER knows when testing will occur. The very nature of this sense of randomness is the linchpin in their system.

Where the author goes wrong is in assuming that it would be each individual card that the UFC would have to worry about footing the bill on testing for. In actuality, if the UFC were to contract USADA to perform testing for them on a full time basis, USADA would almost certainly require that all UFC fighters who are under contract have to undergo random testing year round, weather they are fighting or not.

Also, USADA already has other WADA agents all across the globe who they work with that can do the testing. So it's not like they wold be paying to fly guys all over the world all the time.

Originally Posted by J.B.

I think it's utterly hilarious how much of a ripple effect Floyd Mayweather has on the whole fight world. If he's not baiting the UFC into competing with him, he's got the fighters ticked off because he's cashing 30 million dollar paychecks, and now the Nevada State Athletic Commission is going to hold a hearing on possibly reforming their drug testing standards after reviewing the drug-testing protocol that Mayweather and Mosley went through for their fight on May 1st.

YES, we need the absolute best testing available, and this is something the commissions should have already mandated a long time ago. At least GSP didn't pull a Manny Pacquiao and give people a song and dance about how taking blood before a fight makes him weak. When asked, he said "Yes, let's do it".

Actually, I think in a small way, we should thank Manny Pacquiao for acting so suspicious, because it really has opened up a discussion that needs to be addressed. Of course there will always be ways to beat the system as it's a constantly evolving science, but one of the things that USADA does is retain the blood samples to be tested at a later time when testing is better. Such as with Floyd/Shane, they both agreed to have their samples retained for 8 years, and if they were to ever be found guilty of doping, they would have to forfeit their purse and the fight would be ruled a "No Contest".

People are entitled to their opinions, and the fighters know how rampant the problem of PED's is in Boxing/MMA, and in all sports for that matter. I don't have a problem with Koscheck being suspicious of GSP, but I would have a problem if GSP didn't openly comply with random testing.

I heard of people saying he was on the juice long before Floyds comments bout Pac Man

[J.B.]

Originally Posted by logrus

I heard of people saying he was on the juice long before Floyds comments bout Pac Man

If you are referring to GSP, you are correct, but that wasn't my point.

Was anybody talking about Olympic Style Testing in Boxing/MMA before Floyd and Manny's negotiations in December?

Not really. Maybe Travis Tygart (USADA) or Victor Conte (BALCO), but that's about it.

Originally Posted by Chuck

I agree.... I really hate baseless accusations against any athlete... It's pathetic.

Jealousy is a bitch ... Tour de France has olympic level testing and people are still saying Armstrong was cheating ...

Originally Posted by J.B.

If you are referring to GSP, you are correct, but that wasn't my point.

Was anybody talking about Olympic Style Testing in Boxing/MMA before Floyd and Manny's negotiations in December?

Not really. Maybe Travis Tygart (USADA) or Victor Conte (BALCO), but that's about it.

I think we were talking about it first lol.

[J.B.]

Originally Posted by logrus

I think we were talking about it first lol.

I found this hilarious, and it kinda backs up my little point...

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cag...urn=mma,246378

I'm not surprised he mentions Mayweather when talking about Olympic Style Testing, but his name is literally the first two words in the article....