The UFC has announced details of its new anti-doping program that will officially begin Dec. 31.
After a partnership with U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that began in 2015 soured, the promotion decided to cut ties and begin a new UFC anti-doping policy (UFC ADP).
According to a statement released Thursday by the promotion, sample collection will be conducted by Drug Free Sport International, with administration and sanctioning to be overseen independently by Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), headed by president George Piro.
“UFC’s goal for the Anti-Doping Policy is to be the best, most effective, and most progressive anti-doping program in all of professional sports,” UFC chief business offer Hunter Campbell said in the statement. “UFC is proud of the advancements we have made with our anti-doping program over the past eight years, and we will continue to maintain an independently administered drug-testing program that ensures all UFC athletes are competing under fair and equal circumstances. With this new iteration of the program, UFC has once again raised the bar for health and safety in combat sports.”
UFC senior vice president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky was also quoted:
“This latest UFC Anti-Doping Program is the result of our continued efforts to protect the athletes who compete in the Octagon. This new program is the result of years of input and trial and error taken by UFC, our athletes, and third parties who have assisted UFC in operating the program. The anti-doping policy is a living and breathing document that will continue to evolve and adapt when clear science supports changes that can further protect UFC athletes who compete in UFC.”
MMA Junkie obtained an email Campbell sent to the UFC roster, detailing expectations for whereabouts filing and testing, which can be read below along with more details released in the public statement about the new UFC ADP.
Fighter whereabouts filing
Fighters are expected to keep accurate filings of their expected whereabouts so they can be contacted for testing.
In an email obtained by MMA Junkie, UFC fighters were thanked by Campbell for completing their Q1 whereabouts filings for Jan. 1-March 31:
“Thank you all for completing your 2024 Q1 “Whereabouts Filings,” a crucial step in participating in the new UFC anti-doping program. Your 2024 Q1 Whereabouts Filing provides your expected locations from January 1 – March 31, 2024, so that you can easily be located for testing.
“It is important to remember to update your Whereabouts Filing as your plans change throughout Q1 2024. If any information in a previously provided Whereabouts Filing is incomplete, inaccurate, or has changed, you MUST update the Whereabouts Filing as soon as possible on the new UFC Whereabouts Platform, ufcantidoping.com.
“All UFC athletes must be ready and accessible for testing at all times at the locations specified on the Athlete’s Whereabouts Account. The failure by any Athlete to provide timely, accurate, or complete whereabouts information and/or by being unavailable for Testing due to inaccurate information provided on the Whereabouts Filing, may result in a “Whereabouts Failure.” Pursuant to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, any three Whereabouts Failures within a rolling twelve (12) month period may result in an anti-doping policy violation (ADPV) under Article 2.4 of the UFC ADP.”
According to the public statement released by the UFC, the new whereabouts platform will be more user-friendly than USADA’s system.
Drug Free Sport International to conduct sample collection
All fighters on the UFC roster will be subject to unannounced sample collection at any time, any place, according to a public statement.
“Beginning on December 31, UFC athletes will be subject to no-notice sample collections by UFC’s new biological sample collection and shipping agency, Drug Free Sport International (DFSI), or one of its contracted affiliates. DFSI a global leader in the anti-doping industry and currently collects biological samples for professional and amateur athletic organizations, including Major League Baseball, the National Football League, FIFA, PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, NCAA, NASCAR, and others. DFSI has more than 5,000 collection personnel worldwide, who will provide UFC with greater global coverage than it had under the prior program. The unannounced sample collections will take place 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. DFSI will only be the sample collector under the new program and will not have any authority to adjudicate violations.”
Sports Medicine and Research Testing Labratory to perform sample analysis
Sports Medicine and Research Testing Laboratory president and laboratory director Dr. Daniel Eichner will be the science advisor of the new UFC ADP.
“Athlete samples will be analyzed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited Sports Medicine and Research Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) in Salt Lake, City, Utah. SMRTL, considered by many in the industry to be the top anti-doping testing laboratory in the world, has had extensive experience analyzing UFC samples under the prior iteration of the anti-doping program. Dr. Daniel Eichner, the president and laboratory director at SMRTL, will act as the new program’s Science Advisor. Dr. Eichner is widely recognized as one of the top anti-doping scientists in the world and will be instrumentally involved in test planning strategy, analyzing, and interpreting athletes’ sample results. Under Dr. Eichner’s supervision, SMRTL will also conduct the highest percentage of “special analysis” testing in a professional sport year-round program, screening for prohibited substances like EPO, testosterone, and human growth hormone.”
George Piro, CSAD to oversee program administration and sanctioning
At a press conference in October, Campbell and Novitzky announced former FBI agent George Piro would become the independent administrator of the new UFC ADP. Piro is the president of CSAD, who will oversee administration and sanctioning decisions independently of the UFC, according to the statement released Thursday.
“The administration of the UFC Anti-Doping Program, including sanctioning decisions, will be handled exclusively and independently by Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), and its president, George Piro, a senior executive with more than 30 years of distinguished service in federal and local law enforcement, including over 20 years with the Federal Bureau of investigation (FBI). … CSAD will continue the independent spirit of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, where no results management or sanctioning decisions will be made by UFC. With the technical assistance of the program’s science advisor, Dr. Daniel Eichner, CSAD will maintain all decision-making authority under the program, including adjudicating program violations, such as suspensions and whereabouts failures. Additionally, CSAD will maintain a “tip-line” where any information concerning the use/abuse of performance enhancing drugs within UFC can be reported to tipline@csad.org.”
Prohibited substance list
UFC fighters will have access to a full list of prohibited substances similar to the USADA program, with some modifications.
“The “Prohibited List,” detailing which substances are allowed and which substances are not, will generally remain the same as the prior program. The criteria for prohibited substances will be modeled after WADA’s In and Out of Competition programs with modifications based on historical findings (i.e. marijuana removed from the prohibited list). In addition, Decision Concentration Limits (thresholds) will be established that allow the program to differentiate between intentional use cases of prohibited substances and cases stemming from unintentional exposure to low-level contaminants.”
