Matt Brown reacts to UFC cutting ties with USADA, explains biggest problem with new anti-doping program
17/10/2023 15:00
The UFC's anti-doping program will be revamped at the start of 2024 following the promotion's split with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
The breakup comes after eight years of the UFC and USADA working together, however the contentious split left both sides pointing fingers about why UFC opted to move in a different direction. USADA CEO Travis Tygart claimed the relationship with the UFC became "untenable" largely due to concerns over Conor McGregor returning to the anti-doping program without undergoing six months of testing before potentially competing again.
In a lengthy press conference, UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell and Jeff Novitzky, the UFC senior vice president of athlete health and performance, both erupted over USADA's claims. They described the the accusations regarding McGregor as a "disturbing" and "disgusting" false narrative. They also stated rather emphatically that the split with USADA was already in the works before McGregor became the center of attention.
"They dropped bombs," UFC welterweight Matt Brown said when reacting to the UFC's press conference on The Fighter vs. The Writer. "They didn't f*** around at all, which is really surprising. I wonder how much tension there was building up to this.
"That's what I felt like to me. There was tension building up to this and this was just the final straw. Like something happened but it was all completely under the radar. This came out of nowhere for all of us."
Like most fighters on the UFC roster, Brown was immediately curious about the promotion's plans for drug-testing moving forward once the split with USADA was first announced.
In response, the UFC announced that an updated anti-doping program is already in the works with Drug Free Sport International expected to handle sample collections starting in 2024. Dr. Daniel Eichner, a leading physician in the field and the chief doctor at a World Anti-Doping Agency accredited laboratory, is set to serve as the science advisor, and ex-FBI agent George Piro is set to take over as independent administrator. Piro essentially makes the call as far as punishments or penalties are concerned for athletes on the UFC roster.
Novitzky praised Piro as "an individual with the highest level of integrity and credibility you could possibly imagine" and called him a legitimate "American hero." Piro also trains extensively in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which gives him a better familiarity with MMA.
While Piro's law enforcement credentials appear sterling, just as Novitzky described, it didn't take long to uncover that he actually trains at American Top Team, one of MMA's biggest gyms — and one with numerous UFC contenders and champions on its roster.
But Brown admits Piro's hiring as the sole authority in charge of UFC's anti-doping efforts raised red flags for him even before that potential conflict of interest was unearthed.
"What I watched of that press conference, that was probably the one thing that turned me off the most," Brown said. "So the UFC decides George Piro's in charge. Nobody else has any say. The UFC decides this. Then when they ask about his credibility and integrity and everything, their answer is basically, 'Trust me, bro.' I just didn't like that."
Brown says he's never had any past issues dealing with the UFC's anti-doping program when USADA was involved because he doesn't do anything that could be deemed problematic.
That being said, the 42-year-old can only hope the changes being made in 2024 will be just as pristine as the UFC promises, because the athletes really have no choice in the matter.
"All I hope with the whole thing — and unfortunately we can all only hope, because again we don't have collective bargaining and we don't really have a say in all this — what we have to hope is that it is as fair as it can be," Brown said. "That George Piro isn't helping [American Top Team] athletes with an advantage because he's training beside them.
"That's what sucks about it. Even with USADA or before that, you're going in there just hoping this guy isn't making enough money or has the means to beat the system. As a fighter, you just have to accept it. Find what your beliefs are and what you want to do with your life and how you want to live your life, and you have to go in and just accept it."
As far as the new UFC anti-doping program ultimately being better or worse than it was under USADA, Brown remains skeptical that any drug-testing protocol will really make a difference as far as cheating is concerned.
Brown knows that athletes with the financial means to use illegal substances and get away with it already happens now. He doesn't expect that to change, regardless of what the UFC tries.
"It's a cat and mouse game, [and] the cat's never going to catch the mouse," Brown said. "If you have the money and the means to take things, you're able to take them, and that's all there is to it. There's a way to do it. There's guys that will always do it. It's always going to be a part of every high-level athletic endeavor in this world.
"There are always guys that are going to beat the system, and they're always going to have a leg up on the guys that can't beat the system. You want to talk about a level playing field? There's no such thing. The only level playing field is allowing everybody to do it. I think that's the best way to go about it. You're trying to solve an issue that it not solvable. It's just like the war on drugs in America. You're trying to stop something that is not stoppable. You are not going to level this playing field. You simply are not, so forget about it."
