UFC Middleweight Tim Kennedy told ESPN.com this week that he believes 60%-70% of all UFC fighters are using banned performance-enhancing drugs and treatments. On one hand, he’s proud that UFC is starting to take the matter seriously. UFC is now paying for athletic commissions to randomly test fighters. That said, he still doesn’t think enough is being done to to catch offenders.
Kennedy is insisting on random drug testing before his upcoming fight against Yoel Romero at UFC 178 on September 27th from Las Vegas.
“Whatever it takes to ensure we are moving toward having a clean sport, which we are nowhere near right now,” Kennedy said. “Something has to change.”
Kennedy is so adamant that he says he’s willing to pay for half of the cost of random testing he and Romero leading up to the fight.
Over the past six months, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen, all Middleweights in Kennedy’s division, have had issues with drug testing. Sonnen failed two separate random drug tests this year, was booted from UFC and now faces up to $250,000 in fines. Belfort also failed a test this year, his second in the state of Nevada. Wanderlei Silva fled the scene when the NSAC tried randomly testing him earlier this year.
“They randomly test three dudes and all three fail. All in my weight class. All dudes I could potentially be fighting. I went from just being vocal about drug use, to saying to myself, ‘I have to make a stand about this.'”
