Issue 101

May 2013

Actions speak louder than words. It’s a mantra that most sportsmen swear by, especially in the world of mixed martial arts. However, when a fighter can display a devastating amount of violence within the cage and then have an entire arena hanging off each and every word outside of it, it really says something.

Jackson’s MMA middleweight Tom Watson had some things he wanted to get off of his chest after he put on a Muay Thai striking clinic during the UFC on Fuel 7 prelims at Wembley Arena in London in February. 

Following his massacre of then-undefeated Bulgarian, Stanislav Nedkov, ‘Kong’ refused the in-ring interview cliché of saying he’d fight anyone the UFC put in front of him, opting instead to put a target on the backs of a particular group of fighters competing in the Octagon.

In the eyes of Watson, if you’re a user of the controversial testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) or any kind of PEDs he wants a piece of you. 

“Obviously, I didn’t win my first UFC fight so you don’t get to say anything, but I got a chance this time,” Watson explains to Fighters Only. “I just think it’s something that people see in the sport, fighters and fans see it. Within the sport of MMA, there is a big problem in terms of making more money and making more drugs. 

“My opinion is that I’m not really a fan of it and things should be done at all costs to get it out of the sport.” 

It’s a touchy subject with many in the industry, most of all UFC president Dana White, yet few have openly stood up and spoken out against it. But with TRT becoming increasingly prevalent amongst fighters within MMA, it’s quickly became a problem and one at the forefront of Watson’s mind. 

He says: “I train in the States and, maybe a month before, the Lance Armstrong interview with Oprah and the whole drugs cheat scandal came out. He spoke about his cycling career and everything he’d done during that time. So it was on my mind. 

“Then you had Bisping’s fight, where he fought Vitor, and I’d heard somewhere that all of his losses, besides from the one against Rashad Evans, had been against fighters on TRT. If you think about it, he’s only lost fights to people who are using up on testosterone.” 

You’d forgive Watson for feeling a bit wary of fighters on TRT, after all this is how he makes a living. However, his philosophy is very much the opposite. In fact, he doesn’t want to shy away from those who are using PEDs; he wants to defeat them. 

“I think Dan Gable had this quote and it’s been on my mind for quite a while. He said something like, ‘I love wrestling against people who are on steroids because they’re mentally weak.’ And that kind of stuck in my head,” he offers. 

“I think I can relate to that philosophy and I’d sooner go out there against someone who is using and prove a point against them.” 

And when asked how many fighters he believes are using PEDs within the sport, he had a relatively frightening response. “I reckon it’s something like 60–70%,” he claims with a shrug of the shoulders. “In fairness, I think it’s more prevalent in the US compared to the rest of the world. 

“I think the way their medical field and sports field is, it might be a bit more tolerant towards it. Look at Dwain Chambers (the UK 100m sprinter), if he was racing in another country he would’ve probably only been banned for two years, but in the UK he was banned for life.” 

Before his well-received outburst, in front of over 10,000 fans in London, Watson had earned his first victory in the UFC following a split- decision loss against Brad Tavares on his debut in September. This time the Southampton-born fighter earned two bonus checks at the end of the night, though to get them he had to go through some adversity in the form of some vicious ground ‘n’ pound administered by his opponent in the opening round. 

Watson recalls: “I remember being on the ground and consciously thinking, ‘I better keep moving here, cover up and scramble because the referee could stop this in a minute.’ Though I didn’t feel as if I was in that much trouble, I was still on the ground taking some big punches and I was aware the referee could step in at any moment and at that point you can’t really have too many complaints. 

“I had Alan Keddle and Greg Jackson with me and they were both telling me that I had to do the same thing I was doing in the first round. Put him against the fence and use my knees and elbows. Greg pretty much enforced that and told me I was controlling the fight and needed to do what I was doing in the beginning of the round and, obviously, not what I was doing at the end of the round (laughs).” 

With a win in the UFC tucked under his belt, and a whopping $100,000 double-bonus coming his way too, Watson has also become the new face of getting PEDs out of MMA. It now appears the world is Watson’s oyster. What a difference a win makes!