ATT Coach Expects Nothing to Change with New UFC Anti-Doping Policy

Amazing night. 4-0. pic.twitter.com/HHiWF5EdbO

— Marcos DaMatta (@ParrumpaATT) April 15, 2023

American Top Team coach Marcos “Parrumpa” DaMatta will be a busy man in the coming months.

"Next week I’m going to Sao Paulo to corner Rodrigo Nascimento and Rinat Fakhretdinov; two weeks later I will corner Alexandr Shabliy against Patricky ‘Pitbull’ in the lightweight semifinal of Bellator; one week later I’ll corner Magomed Magomedkerimov in the final of PFL, an event where ATT will have three finalists plus Kayla [Harrison] doing a superfight against Julia Budd,” DaMatta said. “In the first week of December, I’ll be with [Arman] Tsarukyan for his fight against [Beneil] Dariush, and two weeks later with [Alexandre] Pantoja for his first title defense against Brandon Royval. No doubt the agenda is full just like I enjoy.”

“Parrumpa” revealed that Muhammad Mokaev, who is coming off a victory over Tim Elliott at UFC 294, decided not to train at ATT anymore after Pantoja captured the UFC flyweight crown this past July.

“A few months ago, if you asked me to point to the prospects in ATT that could be champion in a near future, I picked Mokaev and Shabliy,” he said. “I totally understand Mokaev’s decision. Pantoja is like a son to me, and it would be complicated for me to train two guys with the same goal.

“But Shabliy is here with us, better than ever. I truly believe he will beat Patricky in the semifinal and the champion in the final. Usman [Nurmagomedov] may be a little superior in the wrestling aspect, but they have about the same level on the ground. What makes Shabliy the favorite in my opinion is his better striking and also excellent takedown defense. A good example of that is when Usman defeated Brent Primus via decision in a boring match. Shabliy knocked out Primus. I truly believe Shabliy will get this million dollar prize.”

The ATT jiu-jitsu coach also provided details about Mayra Bueno Silva’s doping case. Bueno Silva’s victory over Holly Holm in July was recently overturned to a no contest when the Brazilian bantamweight tested positive for a banned substance that she claimed was in her ADHD medication.

"That was unacceptable,” he said. “The USADA exam didn’t reveal anything, so she was released to fight. Then the Nevada State Athletic Commission caught her with the same exam. How come? She has used the same medicine for ADHD since she was 10 years old. It´s not a PED, and the biggest proof of that is that both USADA and UFC helped our lawyer, and Mayra was suspended for only four months, which is less than the minimum suspension of six months.

“The UFC didn’t take her No. 3 ranking, and she kept her win bonus. The only problem was that fight was changed to a no contest by the commission. But she is already able to return in the first week of December.”

The UFC will end its partnership with USADA beginning in 2024, but “Parrumpa” doesn’t expect much to change when Drug Free Sport International (DFSI) takes over the anti-doping program.

"I believe that nothing will change. The surprise tests will go on and the fight week protocols will be the same,” he said. “George Piro, one of the DFSI directors, does private classes with me. This guy was head of the FBI for a long time. After he retired he started to work for DFSI.

“I've heard people making funny jokes that ATT athletes will start to be ‘stronger’ next year. But as far as I know Piro, it will be the opposite. He would never put his reputation in jeopardy to favor one team. It's more likely that ATT fighters will be even more tested.”