Issue 133

October 2015

The UFC’s drug-testing policy has been a long time coming and I really believe it should even the playing field. The athletic gifts God has blessed me with have forced people to try and bridge that gap. They’ve tried to use performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to level the playing field against people like myself and other athletes who are also physically gifted.

Tyron Woodley 

The former Strikeforce title challenger wonders how the UFC’s drug-testing policy will impact fighters

I believe you’re given a certain toolbox in your genetic makeup and God created everyone differently, so you’ve got to do the best with what you have. You shouldn’t be able to extend your career for a few years by taking PEDs and you shouldn’t be able to increase the quality of your training camps or recover faster from injury.

All those things are just a part of the game. It’s just something you’ve got to deal with. I just know I’ve always done things the right way. I’ve always been clean and I’ve never had extra help. With that said, it’s weird because I really don’t knock the guys that do it. 

Obviously, when it’s illegal they shouldn’t do it, however, if you make that choice and say, ‘Hey dude, you’re superior to me, you’re a better athlete and you’re stronger than me. I can’t compete and I need help,’ and go and seek someone who can give you the special medicine, it’s not like you’re just going to take it just once.

You’ve got to consciously make a decision every morning to take that and put it into your body. If you want to make a mental note to do that, then go ahead, because at the end of the day it’s going to catch up with you. Right now we’re just seeing that we’ve caught up.

I’ve never been accused of taking PEDs myself and I’ve always been tested whenever I’ve fought in the UFC and my last few Strikeforce fights, although I haven’t had any out-of-competition testing yet, but that’s just because it’s new.

Fighters who are clean and playing by the book, have no reason to care about peeing in a cup. You’ve just got to do things the right way. Right now my foot is recovering and I don’t rely on PEDs to get back in there or get back to a level that fans want to see. To do that, I need to train. 

When Anderson Silva got popped for PEDs it broke my heart. I was definitely surprised by that and I haven’t really let it resonate or accepted it. 

I hope it turns out to be a mistake but it just goes to show that even a champion of his caliber is willing to put his legacy in jeopardy because of the pressure. 

These kids are only getting faster. Can you still compete? You answer that by either showing what you’ve got or retiring. That’s going to be what I do. 

I want to have enough things going on outside the Octagon so that if I see these kids coming up and I can’t quite keep up any more, I’ll call it a day. 

I don’t want to be the guy that hangs around for too long and gets badly hurt. It’s not fair on my family to watch that. I can do other things alongside the sport to stay involved.

War on drugs

USADA the saviors

Anderson Silva’s positive PED test at the beginning of the year forced the UFC’s hand in dealing with drug cheats in the Octagon. The US Anti Doping Agency (USADA) now control the organization’s out of competition testing program, which features a minimum of 2,750 drug tests per year – or about 5 potential tests for each fighter.