The news about the termination of the USADA and UFC partnership has created a lot of buzz in the MMA world. While some fighters have supported USADA in promoting clean athletes, others are not so fond of their testing methods.
Recently, UFC featherweight Sodiq Yusuff revealed that USADA requested to watch him take a sh*t. When people started to question this act, UFC legend Cub Swanson decided to explain USADA’s reasoning behind their method.
UFC fighter Sodiq Yusuff claims USADA requested to watch him poop pic.twitter.com/EmGJBWiZQP
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) October 22, 2023
Cub Swanson (29-13-0) explained that this is the basic standard for USADA. “Once they come in contact with you, they can’t let you out of their sight until they collect the sample,” said Swanson. According to Swanson, a random drug test means that they will have to be with you until you give them the required sample.
This is standard. Once they come in contact with you, they can’t let you out of their sight until they collect a sample
— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) October 22, 2023
When an X user questioned the extreme methods of USADA by saying that it’s “super f*****g creepy” and there should be a middle ground where the testing agency can conduct random tests while maintaining fighters’ privacy, Swanson had an interesting answer to this.
The UFC legend asked the fan to think about the situation from a USADA point of view. “You show up to randomly drug test someone and the first thing they say is ‘Um I need to go into the bathroom alone, I promise I’m not trying to cheat the drug test,'” said Swanson.
Think about it from their point of view. You show up to randomly drug test someone and the first thing they say is “Um I need to go into the bathroom alone, I promise I’m not trying to cheat the drug test” 🤷🏽♂️
— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) October 22, 2023
USADA has had many critics, including the likes of Joe Rogan, Jon Jones, Jorge Masvidal, and more. However, Cub Swanson defending the testing agency is something we don’t see that much from UFC athletes.
Demetrious Johnson and Michael Bisping talk about their experience with USADA
Recently, Demetrious Johnson uploaded a podcast with Michael Bisping to his YouTube channel. In the middle of the discussion, ‘Mighty Mouse’ talks about how the new-age athletes are always complaining about USADA. Furthermore, Johnson shares his experience by saying that he has been tested in the liquor store while playing World of Warcraft and on many other unique occasions.
‘Mighty Mouse’ goes on to defend the testing agency by saying that when USADA comes to collect the urine sample, the athletes can make them wait for six hours until they are ready to give them the sample. He went on to praise USADA by calling them “the king d***l**g” of catching athletes who try to cheat.
After hearing this, Michael Bisping recalls a story about USADA. Bisping said that once they showed up at 4 in the morning at his house, which pissed him off since he was going through a nasty weight cut. ‘The Count’ then asked the USADA agent to wait outside while he took a nap. When he woke up after an hour of sleep, he saw the USADA agent was still waiting outside for him.
However, there are certain athletes who agree with USADA’s methods to promote clean athletes. The fans will have to wait and see how the testing procedure will change in the UFC once the partnership with the testing agency is over.