UFC

Mark Hunt Files Lawsuit Against UFC

Mark Hunt, a Heavyweight contender in the UFC, is taking the UFC to court!  The suit is filed against Brock Lesnar, as well as UFC boss Dana White.

Mark Hunt Lawsuit

Filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for Nevada, the suit alleges racketeering, breach of contract, as well as fraud.

#WHOA

He’s seeking:

  • Compensatory damages
  • Declaratory Relief
  • Punitive Damages
  • Statutory Treble Damages
  • Attorney’s Fees

UFC Fighter Mark Hunt Sues UFC, Dana White

This all comes from the UFC 200 fight where Hunt and Lesnar fought.  Lesnar tested positive for clomiphene and 4-Hydroxyclomiphene after the fight, which are both banned substances.  The test was done prior to the fight and another test was taken, and failed, the night of the bought last July.

Lesnar came back from retirement for this MMA fight and as a returning fighter was subject to the anti doping policy UFC maintains.  He was supposed to have four months of drug tests prior to making a return, but there was a clause of an exemption that read:

in exceptional circumstances or where the strict application of that rule would be manifestly unfair to an athlete

As you can probably assume, Lesnar got the exemption but after the fact tested positive for the two aforementioned banned substances.

Lesnar was initially handed down a one year suspension and a fine of $250,000 (his purse was $2,500,000) and his win was negated against Hunt.  This was decided by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.  However, Hunt is viciously looking for more justice.

I’ve never been one to understand legal jargon, but from what I read Hunt alleges that there was a conspiracy with Lesnar (and the UFC).

Hunt was clean, and Lesnar Doped.  It’s as simple as that, and that’s why Hunt is so pissed off.

The shots fired at Dana White allege that there was a financial motive of almost $360 million to make the UFC 200 event the landmark event.  Of course, a doping scandal would hurt this event and ruin the hype.

In a totally unrelated news story, the UFC sold only days after the event for nearly $4 billion dollars.  Coincidence?  I think not.

You can bet your ass I’ll cover this story as it develops.

Read more about this on Fox Sports.

 

 

 

Tito Ortiz Speaks Out on Jon Jones Failed Drug Tests

Tito Ortiz was one of the original MMA legends.  A can’t miss guy with bleach blonde hair and a huge frame, he’s definitely one of the most recognizable names the sport has ever produced.

When he talks, he has a presence about him.  Recently, in this article, he spoke about what a failed drug test meant to the career of Jon “Bones” Jones.

Tito Ortiz Says Jon Jones “Will Never” Be Greatest of All Time

If you read into it, he’s got a lot of merit in making that statement.  The same things are said about MLB legends like Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.  The home run kings that crushed the ball out of the ballpark it seemed almost every time they got an at bat.  These men were banned from the sports insider circles because of their steroid use.

Along the same lines of thinking, Ortiz is suggesting that Jones should not be in consideration for “GOAT” (greatest of all time) as far as the world of MMA is concerned.

Jones was pulled from the biggest MMA event in the UFC, the PPV that was UFC 200.  He tested positive for PED’s (performance enhancing drugs.)  In specific, he was flagged for Hydroxy-clomiphene, which is an anti-estrogrenic agent.  He also was found to have Letrozole, which is an aromatase inhibitor.

Even though Jones is no doubt heralded for all his achievements, which have yet to be matched by anyone, Ortiz, a former UFC light heavyweight champ himself, says that the fighters legacy has been affected.

Tito Ortiz Quotes

And Ortiz continued:

“Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, he had an opportunity to be one of the greatest ever and he’ll never be able to do that again – ever.”

-Tito Ortiz

Of course, Jones has denied any use of PED’s.  On October 10, Jones will appear before the Nevada Athletic Commission.

Not that I’m an MMA blogger, but I’ve seen a lot of these drug testing stories come through the pipes. Here are a few other ones you can check out and read at your own leisure.

Chael Sonnen Must Clear a Drug Test to Get Paid

The UFC Hit By PED Scandal Again

The UFC Hit By PED Scandal Again

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has once more been rocked by scandal. A few more of its professional fighters have been in the spotlight for being accused of using banned substances, such as Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar and Chad Mendes.

These accusations in the UFC do not come as a shock; nor do revelations of other UFC abusers. In fact, the cynical reaction has been to believe all fighters probably use Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED) at least some time, knowingly or innocently. And Nate Diaz is famously known for saying that all fighters use steroids.

Help from the USADA

A non-governmental agency called the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) runs a website, regulates the UFC from within, and seeks to educate competitors about the dangers and consequences of using banned substances when they train or compete.

Random tests seek to discover a fighter developing greater strength by taking supplements such as drink mix powders and tablets which contain a variety of PED or promote muscle growth in unnatural ways. They also test for products potentially used to mask such results.

usada.orgHelpful Website

The USADA website helpfully outlines the various compounds which can be injected or ingested to these ends, some of them not obvious. One expects to see certain illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and opiates, but not protein powders and amino acids.

The list is alarming in that it contains some items found in food supplements sold over-the-counter at gyms, drug stores, health food stores, and online which the average person wouldn’t recognize as illicit or illegal.

Only a fighter well-versed in the rules, regulations, and ongoing controversy around such things could possibly know, and even then the list is an ever-changing miasma of potential poisons.

The USADA website also highlights the reasons why a performance-enhancing drug would be controlled, be inspected by the FDA, or should cause concern. They include potential harm to the person consuming them, not just unnatural advantages in the ring.

The UFC

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was created in the USA in 1993. It started out with fighters in separate disciplines claiming theirs was the better one, but eventually all martial arts were combined into what we know as MMA: karate, judo, tae kwon do, etc. Mixed Martial Arts is not hampered by a lot of rules.

The few there are allow competitors to incorporate standing moves with floor action from all of the martial arts disciplines. Fighters are divided by their weight into various numerous categories the way boxers are to make the fight as fair and even as possible.

Such fairness makes for cleaner fighting and also for more entertaining contests. An uneven match is boring. The UFC website provides further enlightenment as to the origins, rules, and schedule of this popular sport.

Exciting

Obviously, this is not a boring activity to watch and can be bloody. One doesn’t participate actively for many years; it is too damaging on the body, so participants can turn their skills to acting, doing stunts, coaching younger participants, or roles within the UFC.

A match is held most weeks of the year between competitors from around the world. The UFC airs matches on television to a strong reception from the public familiar with celebrities like Jason Statham who use their skills in the movie industry to create diverse and exciting fight scenes.

Results of News

Will the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization come undone as a result of high-profile doping cases? It is unlikely. The Olympics is also hit by these problems regularly; almost every sport is, and there have been recent headlines that the UFC is notorious for frequent testing for banned substances. Athletes give in to their desire to be the best and do things which harm their sport, their bodies, and their countries’ reputations.

Internal regulatory agencies such as the USADA try their best to limit the damage these issues cause, but doping issues do not seem to have dampened the public’s interest in UFC. In fact, they give new fighters a chance to compete in place of suspended pros.

If you are facing an upcoming test, here’s my insight into drug test solutions.

Gawker Urges Companies to Stop Drug Testing Employees