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By Jason Comack  July 25, 2009, at 4:35 pm  The fact that Josh Barnett get caught using steroids on it’s own isn’t a huge deal. Barnett already had a track record of juicing and it can be safely assumed that when he was fighting in Japan, without testing, he was using performance enhancing drugs often. What worries me is how Barnett was caught.
Barnett was caught during training camp, not on fight day. If you think about it before the Barnett case we had never heard of such “random drug testing in MMA.” We’ve seen fighters test positive and be suspended but those were always due to tests on the day of the fight or post fight. The California State Athletic Commission just started this type of random testing and unless I’m wrong I don’t believe that Las Vegas Athletic Commission does this type of testing either.
So, not to be cynical, lets think about this. Steroids have become commonplace in American sports. Every athlete is looking to get an edge somehow. The only risk in using PED’s, besides health concerns, is that of being suspended. In Baseball and Football there is random drug testing so players can’t cycle steroids knowing when they will be tested. Even recently the WWE implemented a “wellness program” to deal with drug testing. While MMA fighters are tested, they know when they are going to be tested. With steroids and someone who knows how to administer them it would be relatively easy to plan steroid cycles around planned drug tests. And why wouldn’t MMA fighters use steroids. They need their bodies to be in peak physical condition and even more importantly PED’s would help them recover quickly from various injuries.
It’s obvious, and very upsetting, that steroids have become commonplace in a sport I love so much. Bonnar, Leben, Sherk, Barnett, Antonio Silva, Edwin Dewees, Hermes Franca, Shamrock…I could keep going on and on naming fighters that have tested positive and you can only imagine the list of athletes using is much longer.
What the Barnett case shows us is that MMA needs is more random drug testing and stiffer penalties. A 6 month suspension is not long enough for steroids. Fighters only fight, on average, one every 3-4 months anyway. A positive test should result in a year suspension. Second, any fighter with a professional fight license (in any state where MMA is sanctioned) should be subject to random drug tests throughout the year regardless if they have a fight or not pending.
I don’t want Josh Barnett to go down as MMA’s Jose Canseco. The Athletic Commissions and Dana White need to control steroid use before it gets out of hand.
By Anthony De Franco July 25, 2009, at 3:38 pm I’ve been waiting for the dust to settle on this whole deal before I make any comments, but I have a strange feeling that I am beginning to get a beat on what is going to happen.
For those who don’t know, Josh Barnett’s positive drug test forced Affliction to cancel their upcoming card. Already hemorrhaging money, the clothing manufacturer deciding to simply call it quits. Now, they have secured a deal with Dana White and the UFC to once again become a sponsor and go back to making clothing as their sole profit center. First off, This is a surprising move from the UFC’s despot leader. He’s known as being brash and unforgiving, and the fact that he is allowing someone who challenged him for the throne back into his company is shocking. I bet Affliction had to pay a huge sum of money to get that deal done.
Well, with that hashed out, what happens to all the fighters? We’ll go one at a time:
- Josh Barnett - With his legacy permanently tarnished, I don’t see anyway that he is getting back in an American MMA ring anytime soon. He’ll probably go back to Japan and earn some of that crazy Yakuza money, but he’ll forever be remembered as a two-time steroid user and the man that killed Affliction.
- Fedor – Not even going to try to spell his last name. There have been rumors of him going to the UFC, but I think people are forgetting one important fact: The Russian Government is a huge part of the negotiations for Fedor. They want him to be treated like he’s Alex Rodriguez, and I just don’t think that it’s going to fly in the UFC. As recently as the other day, we posted an interview with Fedor where he talked about the “terms of the contract” with the UFC being “Unacceptable.” Sorry, Don’t expect Fedor and Brock anytime soon.
- Vitor Belfort – It’s done. He’s going back to the UFC. Dana has already said that he wanted him back in the fold, and now that he is a ture free agent, it’s going to happen. He’ll get a couple of tuneups and then he’ll get Anderson Silva.
- Gegard Mousasi and Jay Hieron – Call this a plea to Dana if you will. Sign these two guys. Of the two, Hieron is the more expendable, but please at least sign Mousasi. He’s a damn good fighter that no one knows about yet, and he deserves a shot in your light heavyweight division. Hieron is a Long Island guy who I would like to see succeed. He’s got good wrestling and decent enough stand up that he could make some noise with some improvement.
So, it’s down to just two American MMA promotions. I like both Strikeforce and the UFC, and I think that both of them have their merits. However, It’s a shame that we keep losing MMA companies. The more fights, the better, and now we are being robbed of a pretty good card, and maybe future pretty good cards from Affliction as well.
By Jason Comack July 25, 2009, at 2:43 pm Who could the Rays be after?
According to the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays removed Reid Brignac from Triple-A Durham’s game in the second inning Saturday.
Brignac is one of Tampa’s many young talented prospects. Brignac however has become expandable with Jason Bartlett’s emergence and Tim Beckham as the future at short.
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