Anthony Pettis thinks fighters will be happy USADA is gone

Former UFC and WEC champion Anthony Pettis sees positives and negatives to the dissolution of the U.S. Anti-Doping Company (USADA) program.

USADA introduced Wednesday that its anti-doping program settlement with UFC will expire at the end of the year. It hasn’t been introduced if a brand new associate shall be put in place or what the way forward for UFC drug testing holds, and Pettis has combined ideas on the scenario.

As somebody who was a part of the UFC roster previous to USADA’s introduction in 2015, competed contained in the octagon for many of its period, and has now had fights in different promotions throughout his post-UFC run, Pettis has skilled all of it.

Pettis thinks performance-enhancing drug use within the UFC was way more prevalent previous to USADA than it’s immediately, however he thinks it reached that time by asking an excessive amount of of the athletes.

“I believe most fighters are going to love it (going away),” Pettis advised MMA Junkie moments after USADA’s announcement. “There’s a lot stuff that you simply’ve received to do to be a part of that program. It saved the game truthful. Dudes are getting drug examined the night time of the battle, earlier than the battle, the week of the battle. There’s methods to do it, I believe, to maintain it truthful. Because the fighter, we needed to replace our whereabouts. We’re fighters – we’re touring, shifting round, coaching at totally different gyms. In case you didn’t replace your whereabouts (you bought suspended). Little issues like that I simply suppose there’s a greater solution to do it. USADA, they’re an amazing firm. I’ve no unhealthy issues to do say in opposition to USADA. However I believe there’s different methods to do it. They’re not the one one who can do it.

“There’s simply so some ways round it. You announce that you simply retire, USADA stops coming to your door. That’s a flaw proper there. These guys are like, ‘I’m retired, I’m going to battle subsequent 12 months.’ I believe the place the game was at after they first got here in, they cleaned it up huge time. The blokes that I believe had been juicing, they needed to determine one thing out.”

Pettis thinks the circumstances across the termination of this system is what may finally create probably the most angst amongst fighters. The looming return of Conor McGregor has change into a hot-button subject over the previous 12 months, as a result of earlier than stepping again within the octagon, the coverage said he wanted to submit two clear drug exams over a six-month interval after re-joining the testing pool.

There’s an modification to the coverage that will enable the UFC to wave the testing interval and McGregor may change into instantly eligible to battle, and USADA claimed clashing views over that time precipitated “untenable” friction between the 2 sides that contributed to failed negotiations on extending the settlement.

Pettis stated it’s laborious to disregard McGregor’s affect over how every part got here to a head.

“A variety of fighters are going to be pissed off as a result of it was about Conor McGregor,” Pettis stated. “If it wasn’t about Conor McGregor and UFC was like, ‘Yo, as a enterprise it simply doesn’t make sense for us to make use of this firm, we’re going to make use of a unique firm.’ I believe it will go in a different way. However with Conor’s face on it and the Dana White privilege, persons are going to get behind that. However when it comes all the way down to it, it’s a enterprise. And other people wish to see Conor battle.”

Though Pettis doesn’t battle beneath the UFC banner anymore, his desire is for the game as a complete to be clear. It’s an not possible job, in his opinion, as a result of regardless of the diploma of regulation, he thinks there are all the time avenues to dishonest, and people decided sufficient will discover them.

“I used to be preventing within the wild, Wild West days the place drug exams wasn’t random,” Pettis stated. “Until you had been preventing for a title shot, you most likely wouldn’t even get a drug take a look at. I’ve had each methods. The USADA means, it undoubtedly makes me really feel a bit extra secure that like, ‘The man I’m preventing isn’t on some sh*t.’ In the event that they wish to get round it, there’s methods to get round it. There’s methods and stuff that these guys have. When cash is concerned – you already know.”