Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Gordon Ryan is thrilled with the news of USADA being out as the official anti-doping agency of the UFC, effective January 2024.
Travis Tygart, the CEO of USADA, made the announcement in a statement. Tygart also said the relationship between USADA and the UFC became “untenable” after the situation involving Conor McGregor re-entering the testing pool. Tygart also mentioned negative comments about USADA from UFC color commentator Joe Rogan as a possible factor that led to the split.
Gordon Ryan Celebrates USADA’s Exit From UFC
Gordon Ryan wasn’t shy in expressing his feelings on the fractured relationship between USADA and the UFC. Here is what he had to say on his Instagram account:
“If the UFC ‘regresses’ back to the old days, this is amazing news. The reason people watch professional sports is almost exclusively for entertainment value. Few people who watch pro sports have any real desire to excel at those same sports, so really, they are just watching for the most entertainment. The higher the testosterone, the more physical the athletes are, the less prone to injury they are, the faster they recover, the longer they can compete, and the more entertaining and high paced they are. The better they look, the more attention they draw, the more money they make.”
Ryan went on to say that even with USADA in place, athletes are still able to cheat the system.
“In addition, people think that just because athletes are being tested by USADA or WADA that they are natural LMAOOO. With the l amount of money, pride, and legacies on the line, BEATING drug tests has become a multi-billion dollar industry. This means that the athletes who have money or are a part of big teams with the resources needed are able to actually beat the tests. This has historically been proven time and time again. This means top-tier athletes have the money and resources to use PED’s and get away with it, and up and comers don’t. This creates an uneven playing field. If there’s no testing, then every athlete can use what he or she wants, and the playing field is now level.”
Ryan has been helping UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones prepare for his showdown with Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 on November 11. Jones had his issues with USADA in the past. A failed drug test ahead of UFC 200 led to “Bones” missing out on the historic event. Jones insisted the flag was due to a tainted supplement.
Jones then saw his UFC 217 victory over Daniel Cormier get overturned due to another failed drug test, this time for Turinabol. Jones once again declared his innocence, saying only a picogram of Turinabol was found in his system and he never ingested anything that was on the banned list purposefully.
Here is the full Instagram post from Gordon Ryan on the UFC parting ways with USADA:
