White Addresses Steroid Concerns
Speaking with ESPN The Magazine's Ryan Hockensmith, UFC
president Dana White said he intends on "putting the b---- slap on
guys who get caught using steroids from here on out."
Saying it was "on my lap" to stand up to the problem of steroids in mixed martial arts, White articulated his plan of withholding bonus checks for fighters until tests came back showing a clean result.
"What else am I going to do? Kick these guys' asses?" White told Hockensmith. "You want to drag these guys and their families into the center of town and stone them? What else can you do? Their lives are f---ed. They lose their ability to make a living for a year. At the end of the day, these guys are stupid for doing steroids."
If a fighter is caught, said White, he will still be paid the purse guaranteed by his contract. The UFC president made no mention of a UFC-mandated suspension for guilty fighters.
Currently the UFC relies on the regulatory body of the state it's promoting in to not only test fighters for banned substances, but to hold them accountable should they get caught with something illegal in their system, though White said the UFC independently tested fighters on the June 16 card in Belfast, Ireland; no tests returned positive.
White also said he would convene a two-day seminar for "top-level guys and all of our midtier guys" focusing on issues affecting fighters, including drugs, following the Sept. 22 UFC card in Anaheim, Calif.
Saying it was "on my lap" to stand up to the problem of steroids in mixed martial arts, White articulated his plan of withholding bonus checks for fighters until tests came back showing a clean result.
"What else am I going to do? Kick these guys' asses?" White told Hockensmith. "You want to drag these guys and their families into the center of town and stone them? What else can you do? Their lives are f---ed. They lose their ability to make a living for a year. At the end of the day, these guys are stupid for doing steroids."
If a fighter is caught, said White, he will still be paid the purse guaranteed by his contract. The UFC president made no mention of a UFC-mandated suspension for guilty fighters.
Currently the UFC relies on the regulatory body of the state it's promoting in to not only test fighters for banned substances, but to hold them accountable should they get caught with something illegal in their system, though White said the UFC independently tested fighters on the June 16 card in Belfast, Ireland; no tests returned positive.
White also said he would convene a two-day seminar for "top-level guys and all of our midtier guys" focusing on issues affecting fighters, including drugs, following the Sept. 22 UFC card in Anaheim, Calif.
