I always liked the way Georges St.-Pierre fought when he was in the Octagon, but I never saw myself siding with him on a stance until now. To boot, a very controversial stance!
If you have been a long time reader of Clear The Drug Test, you know I talk a lot about the UFC. At the end of this article I’ll link you to stories about that I’ve written in the past. Today, I’m writing to react to a recent quote by one of the all-time greats, Georges St.-Pierre, or “GSP” as he is mostly known as in fighting circles.
You see, GSP left teh UFC in 2013, back when drug testing was much different than it is today. There were many fighters utilizing testosterone replacement therapy, among other things, that typically weren’t caught in the testing done outside of fighting during screening. The commission-mandated screening was a joke, seen as an “IQ test” by many.
Watch: GSP On PED Use
Back in 2015, things changed. The UFC, along with the (USADA) United States Anti Doping Agency, set up a partnership to form a program so comprehensive that all sports would literally see it as the gold standard. Since this change, we’ve seen many failed drug tests and subsequent suspensions.
However, according to the legendary GSP, there are still many men cheating inside the octagon.
“Even now, it’s still easy to [cheat]. Even now,” St-Pierre said recently during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience.
He went on to elaborate how he would hypothetically pass a drug test:
“Let’s say I want to have an injection of a product that will last in my body for two days or one day. So I know that particular day I cannot be tested, because if I am, I’m screwed. So I put on my [USADA] whereabouts [app] that I’m traveling to freakin’ Antarctica or anywhere, somewhere that is believable, and then I come back two days after. That substance will stay in my body for a certain period of time, but the effect of it will last maybe a month. And now we’re talking about performance enhancing drugs — people, they misunderstand this.
Then, he took it a step even further…..
“They go, ‘Well yeah, but it still doesn’t make a difference.’ Yes, it does make the different in an athlete,” St-Pierre continued. “And the reason, in the eighties and before, [PEDs gave] you more power, more stamina, more endurance. Now, man, with the technology, they have stuff that will change your reaction time, your confidence, your reset time. And this is a huge, huge application, man. If you play baseball or you’re fighting, you see the things coming, you have your reaction time, you’re sharper in the brain. What makes a guy athletic, it’s not his muscle. The reason why Usain Bolt ran faster — there’s many reasons why, but one of the main reasons is because his brain, his nervous system is faster.
Of course, if your nervous system is enhanced, you are a better athlete, fighter, etc. He went on and on about this in his interview with Joe Rogan, which makes a lot of sense.
GSP has forever been a voice in the sport who spoke out about PED use. He wanted testing done when he was a champion, and pushed for testing ahead of his bout with Johny Hendricks way back in November of 2013. Hendicks famously agreed to the testing, only to change his mind!
Ever since the standardized testing came into play, Hendricks no so ironically lost five of six fights!
If UFC fighters can get away with taking drugs, trust me when I tell you I can help you pass a drug test for marijuana!
Links to Other UFC stories: