Lorenzo Fertitta Calls Out For Change: We Can Do Better
Without doubt it has been a pretty horendous year in terms of PR for the UFC; the promotion has taken huge hits with failed drug tests featuring Anderson Silva, Nick Diaz, Hector Lombard and Jon Jones, to name the biggest stars. The way forward has thus far been a murky minefield of possibilities ranging from harsher punishments and policy overhauls, to the potential of the sport running itself in to the ground.
The long-awaited PED (performance enhancing drug) address by the UFC went down today, and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta took a hard-line stance against steroids. Check out what he said:
“As you know, it’s been a challenging few weeks for the UFC. While our popularity worldwide continues to grow, we have recently seen issues with several of our high-profile athletes failing drug tests. We’re extremely disappointed in these failed drug tests, but truthfully, they are a result of our commitment to enhanced drug testing. We said that we were going to catch athletes using PEDs through these testing procedures, and we’re doing just that. These findings have caused us to take a deeper look at our current policies, our administration, and communication process, as well as how we can continue to better educate and lead our athletes in areas of health and wellness. We’ve always deemed it our responsibility to take the leadership position on keys areas impacting our sport, and fighter health and safety has always been at the top of our list.”
Of course the fact that the UFC themselves abandoned random testing could be used as a counter argument to Fertitta’s points; to which the UFC would almost surely rebut with ‘We never knew it was this bad’. Either way, we have reached the same crossroads, albeit through the gates of WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) and NSAC (Nevada State Athletic Commission) testing. The UFC CEO continued:
“We spend countless hours going from state capitol to stat capitol building, international city to international city, pushing for the sport to be regulated. By doing so, we have built the foundation for the regulation of mixed martial arts. As I mentioned, our priority has always been the health and safety of our athletes. We have firmly advocated for and supported drug testing initiatives lead by athletic commissions and international federations.”
“Although we feel confident that the in-competition testing has been effective, we recognize the need for a more robust out-of-competition plan in accordance with athletic commissions and regulatory bodies. Simply put, we can do better. We can take the learning from actions taken and continue to work diligently to protect the health and safety of UFC athletes, and protect the integrity of the sport.”
The question here is could the UFC have done more to prevent this whole messy fiasco? Fighters would have been using until the point they thought they’d be caught, so why this far down the line? Well, the answer could be that we aren’t that deep in to the timeline of this sport.
Whatever you or anyone else thinks, Fertitta’s words are only as good as the action’s that follow them. Sink or swim time Zuffa, sink or swim.
