Yahoo Sports Daniel Cormier on UFC PED Users: ‘They Will Get Caught'
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has held two pay-per-view events in 2015, UFC 182 and UFC 183. The four fighters who headlined those fight cards, Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz, were subjected to out-of-competition drug tests prior to the events. All failed at least one test except for Cormier.
Random drug tests are nothing new for the former Olympic wrestler. He’s undergone some of the most stringent anti-doping procedures that exist. When the UFC announced on Wednesday that it wants more tests and harsher penalties for violators, Cormier welcomed the new policies
“I heard that they are going to continue to test and weed out the guys who are cheating,” he said during this week’s edition of UFC Tonight. “Dana White said they are catching them. It doesn’t matter who they are, you’re going to get caught.”
When a fighter tests positive to a banned substance, they’re typically suspended for nine months to a year. The UFC would like to see that doubled, if not quadrupled.
> SEE ALSO: UFC Unveils Major Drug Testing Changes and Harsher Penalties
“More financial penalties need to happen. Out-of-competition testing needs to happen. That’s the key,” said Cormier. “Show up at a fighter’s house and test him.”
Cormier believes that once an athlete starts using PEDs, they rely on them. It becomes part of how they prepare.
“Once a fighter relies on PEDs, there’s no going back. There’s a chance they’ll lose everything. These guys have lost themselves in them and can’t compete without them. And they will get caught,” he said.
Cormier is expected to face Ryan Bader at UFC Fight Night 68 on June 6 in New Orleans.
