Ratner

By FCF Staff

For sometime now, performance enhancing drugs has been a dominant and contentious issue in MMA, and the UFC is reportedly increasing its efforts to curb their use.

In a year that has seen several fighters caught for PEDs, after failing random drug tests, the UFC is planning to introduce more random testing. UFC vice president of regulatory affairs, Marc Ratner, has informed ESPN.com that the promotion hopes to partner with an independent drug testing agency by the end of the year. In addition, Ratner relayed that the testing will include both urine and blood tests.

The official also conceded that the cost of doing so will be “big”, but that testing out of competition fighters will be “well worth it”. Ratner also noted that the UFC will look to randomly test a certain percentage of its fighters on the roster.

In the past, the promotion has maintained that the responsibility for drug testing lies with athletic commissions. While many jurisdictions do oversee drug testing, and sometimes execute random tests, the costs of doing so restrict how many they can do. Further, the UFC oversees many of its own events in international jurisdictions, where there is no athletic commission present.