Chris Weidman Doesn’t Trust Yoel Romero After USADA Violation
Coming off of the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman will begin his quest back to the 185-pound title when he takes on talented No. 4-ranked Yoel Romero at November 12’s massive UFC 205 pay-per-view from New York.
Romero is coming off of a six-month suspension after failing a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug test for the release stimulator and growth hormone ibutamoren.
Prior to his suspension Romero was riding a seven-fight win streak, steadily making his climb to the UFC middleweight championship after his split decision win over Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza at UFC 194.
Weidman, who has been a big advocate for a cleaner sport, recently spoke to FOX Sports to discuss Romero’s troubled past with USADA, claiming he wouldn’t be surprised if Romero wasn’t still abusing PEDs:
“(Romero) failed while USADA was testing him randomly so he had the balls to take it then along with a lot of other guys. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s still taking something, maybe he’s getting smarter with it,” Weidman said.
“Once a guy fails a drug test, I’m never naïve enough to think now he’s clean.”
Leading up to their pivotal clash in Weidman’s backyard of New York City, ‘The All American’ is hoping Romero is being thoroughly tested by USADA ahead of UFC 205, and also hopes all PED abusers in MMA go clean ‘like a man’:
“I’m really hoping he’s being tested properly leading up to this next fight,” Weidman said. “I heard that they were going to test him, switching up the times, because you hear guys know the times they are going to be tested. Supposedly they are going to come at a bunch of different times so it’s completely random.
“So if these guys are taking stuff it’s a really risky thing. I hope they all get caught, every single one of them gets busted taking something. Hopefully the guys who were on stuff, they become pros and come off stuff and fight like a man like everybody else.”
It’s hard for the former middleweight king to trust past abusers, who Weidman isn’t sure how far will go to preserve their ability to get an upper edge on the competition when they step into the Octagon:
“I just don’t trust anything,” Weidman said. “I don’t know if these guys got doctors and they’re getting their bloodwork checked everyday. I don’t know what lengths they’re willing to go to.
“If they’ve been on steroids for a long time and they don’t want to come off, what kind of money are they willing to spend? What support they have to figure out ways to beat these drug tests? Buy different drugs that don’t show up on tests?
“I don’t trust any of it.”
