UFC forced to conduct more drug testing after flurry of positive results

LAS VEGAS – Stung by a series of drug-test failures by some of its most high-profile athletes, UFC management on Wednesday announced a commitment of millions of dollars per year to combat performance-enhancing drug use by its fighters.

Only a day after Anderson Silva, the greatest star in UFC history, failed another drug test and was temporarily suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta announced an ambitious plan that will conduct more random unannounced tests on fighters.

In addition Fertitta voiced support for a  stiffer penalty structure, vowing to back penalties in the 2015 World Anti-Doping Agency code. The updated code calls for either a two-year or four-year period of ineligibility.

That means a fighter who takes a performance-enhancing drug and it shows up on his or her drug test today could be banned until 2019.

"We are committed more than ever to leading the commissions worldwide and taking out the use of PEDs from our sport, to protect the safety of the athletes and the integrity of our sport," Fertitta said during an hour-long news conference at the Red Rock Resort.

The fighters who have been caught cheating, as well as the angry reaction from the media and fans, forced management's action. Fertitta said that when Silva tested positive, it was an eye-opener that sped up the process.

Fertitta couldn't say exactly how much was being contributed to the program. He said he was prevented by a confidentiality agreement from saying which agency the UFC will work with to implement the testing, but it's known that the company has had long discussions with the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Fertitta said the UFC spent $500,000 on drug testing in both 2013 and 2014, but was prepared to increase it more than tenfold to rid the sport of the plague of performance-enhancing drugs.

It is an enormous task and one that is likely to cause much pain, as some of the sport's biggest names could wind up being banned for four years.

Silva will turn 40 in April and it's virtually certain his career would be over if the charges hold up. He was temporarily suspended at a Nevada Athletic Commission hearing in Las Vegas on Tuesday and ordered to appear at an as-yet-to-be-scheduled disciplinary hearing.

Silva tested positive for drostanolone and methyltestosterone on Jan. 9 in a random test and then, after passing a random test on Jan. 19, failed his post-fight test on Jan. 31 following his win over Nick Diaz on Jan. 31. Silva once again tested positive for drostanolone, but also tested positive for oxazepam and temazepam.

His positive test was the knockout blow following a series of failed tests. Ashlee Evans-Smith tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic, following her loss to Raquel Pennington at UFC 181 on Dec. 6. On Tuesday, she was suspended for nine months and fined 30 percent of her purse.

Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones tested positive for cocaine during a random test taken before his Jan. 3 fight at UFC 182 in Las Vegas with Daniel Cormier. But because it was an out-of-competition test and cocaine is only banned in-competition, Jones was permitted to fight. He was fined $25,000 by the UFC for a violation of its Fighter Code of Conduct.

On that same card, Hector Lombard tested positive for the anabolic steroid desoxymethyltestosterone. He was temporarily suspended by the Nevada commission Tuesday and was yanked out of a fight with Rory MacDonald by the UFC.

Diaz, who lost to Silva in the main event of UFC 183, tested positive for marijuana metabolites and received a temporary suspension on Tuesday.

The UFC announced several measures, including:

• Urging all regulatory bodies to immediately begin testing every fighter on a card following their bouts. The UFC committed to paying any cost overruns.

• Beginning July 1, the UFC will require all main-event and championship bout fighters to submit to enhanced out-of-competition testing that will take place during their training camps.

• Beginning July 1, all fighters on the UFC roster will be subject to random, unannounced testing by a third-party company (likely but not definitely USADA). That company will choose which fighter to test and when.

• The UFC will urge all state athletic commissions in the U.S. and regulatory bodies worldwide to adopt the WADA penalties.

"A fighter is going to look at risk vs. reward," UFC president Dana White said. "[He'll say], 'If I can make a few million dollars, I'll take the risk of getting caught and getting a nine-month suspension and whatever it is.' Two or four years is career-threatening. If you're 28 years old and you get busted for a PED and you're out for four years, that might be the end of it. So now, when you look at the risk vs. the reward, it's a lot more dangerous."

Both Francisco Aguilar, the chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission, and Bob Bennett, its executive director, attended the news conference. They told Yahoo Sports following the formal presentation that they support the UFC's initiatives as well as the lengthy penalties laid out in the WADA code.

Aguilar said he feels they could do it now, but that if need be, the law can be changed.

"The legislature is in session now so it shouldn't be hard to get that done," said Aguilar, who said Gov. Brian Sandoval supports the proposal.

There will be work to be done with state athletic commissions around the country and with governing bodies around the world, but Fertitta insisted the UFC is solidly behind it. He called on other MMA organizations to follow suit.

But it's not a panacea and he admitted there are still likely to be dark times ahead.

"We're hitting this head on, but honestly, it's probably going to get worse before it gets better," said Fertitta, who showed statistics that indicated that 26.3 percent of fighters from a small sample size who were tested out-of-competition came up dirty. "But we have to put these procedures in place to eventually make it better."

Fertitta in January on drug testing: