The ADCC head organizer, Mo Jassim, detailed why his submission grappling promotion doesn’t drug test.
Earlier this week, the UFC and USADA revealed a messy breakup that will end their partnership starting on January 1, 2024. Before the UFC announced they would be working with Drug Free Sport moving forward, rumors began spiraling about the worldwide leader in MMA potentially not drug-testing.
The UFC never planned to stop drug testing, but a debate in the MMA community was sparked about performance-enhancing drugs potentially being allowed.
When it comes to MMA, most top-tier promotions test their fighters frequently. As for submission grappling, the fast-growing sport has a reputation for steroids running rampant, with the worldwide tournaments from ADCC being a primary example.
During an interview with Luke Thomas, Mo Jassim was asked why ADCC doesn’t drug test their athletes. Jassim responded by saying:
“I get this one a lot because IBJJF does the testing. My issue with the IBJJF testing model is apparently they only test the champions. So, how do you know that the other podium people aren’t on this stuff? Generally speaking, ADCC has never drug tested. It’s not even on my radar.”
Mo Jassim continued by explaining that athletes can pass drug tests after only a few days following steroid usage:
“I do think people have ways of passing these tests. I’m on TRT myself, and I do know some people who told me straight up how they pass these tests. Some of these compounds are out of your system in 48 hours.
Watch Mo Jassim’s interview with Luke Thomas below:
Speaking of anti-doping, I asked Mo Jassim – the head organizer of ADCC – why ADCC doesn’t drug test at all.
Here’s his answer.
Full interview: https://t.co/DuiiKPiOEB pic.twitter.com/4KmsuKCVhg
— Luke Thomas🏋️♀️ (@lthomasnews) October 12, 2023
ADCC head organizer, Mo Jassim, says it costs too much money to drug test like the UFC
The UFC’s falling out with USADA revealed several behind-the-scenes details to the public. One of those is the high prices that Dana White and the company spend to maintain a primarily drug-free program through random, unexpected testing.
During the previously-mentioned interview with Luke Thomas, Mo Jassim explained that it doesn’t financially make sense for ADCC to pay for high-level random drug testing:
“The other thing is it’s very costly to do drug testing. I saw the UFC posted it. I think they were paying nearly $1,000 a test. In my opinion, the only effective way to drug test is random drug testing when it’s unannounced, where they show up to your house or gym. For me to go and do that for 105 athletes across the world, that would be very cost-prohibitive and be a nightmare, a headache for me. I understand why people don’t like it, but it is what it is.”
Mo Jassim continued:
“Optics do matter. When you see these athletes coming out just looking like super Marvel characters, some of them, jacked and shredded to the bone. It doesn’t hurt [in helping the company grow].”
When it comes to ADCC’s competitor, IBJJF, they drug test to a certain degree, with all champions providing samples after winning. With that said, submission grappling as a whole seems more lenient toward PEDs than MMA.
It’ll be intriguing to see if that changes over the next decade.
