There are a few fighters in the UFC who faced doping charges in the past. Learn how they handled their cases with the help of their criminal defense attorney on this presentation!

1. 5UFC FIGHTERS ACCUSED
OF DOPING

2. Many athletes speed up or cheat their way to the top
through the use of strength and power enhancing drugs
such as steroids, hormones, stimulants, and even
marijuana. This is called doping and most common in
sports that require bodies to jack up in no time. For this
matter, we will be talking about mixed martial arts where
this dark system is usually discovered.

3. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed
martial arts (MMA) promotion company, had faced a lot of
doping cases of their MMA fighters on steroids or similar
substances. Here are a few of them:

4. One of the most well-known faces in the field of fighting
sports—having appeared in WWE (World Wrestling
Entertainment), NFL (National Football League), and then
UFC—Brock Lesnar was in the zenith of his comeback
when he cheated to win an MMA match against Mark
Hunt back in 2016.
Before the fight, Lesnar was able to avoid the mandatory
drug testing due to his MMA return being announced late.
Nonetheless, Lesnar tested positive before and after the
fight with clomiphene and hydroxy-clomiphene, which are
anti-estrogen drugs. He was eventually banned from
playing the sports for a year because of the Anti-Doping
Policy violation.
In 2018, Lesnar returned to the drug-testing pool in order
to get back to the MMA ring.
BROCK LESNAR
Image source: WWE.com

5. Chael Sonnen was suspended by the California State
Athletic Commission (CSAC) in 2010. It was due to the
high amount of testosterone found in his urine after his
loss to Anderson Silva. After his suspension, Sonnen made
his return and beat a few fighters but is then once again
suspended before his fight with Wanderlei Silva because
of failing his drug tests.
His third drug test failure came after his retirement from
MMA when he was found with performance enhancing
drugs such as somatotropin, anastrozole, erythropoietin,
and gonadotropin in his body.
Sonnen is currently under Bellator MMA and has faced
different fighters since the completion of his suspension.
CHAEL SONNEN
Image source: Bleacher Report

6. Known as The Babyfaced Assassin due to being the
youngest Heavyweight champion in UFC after defeating
Randy Couture, Josh Barnett has all the spotlight on him—
until he was discovered positive for banned substances
both before and after the famed fight. After earning his
reputation back again by fighting in Japan, Barnett
returned under Affliction Entertainment which was a mixed
martial arts company trying to rival UFC. Before a fight
with Fedor Emelianenko, however, Barnett was once again
tested positive for banned substances.
In 2013, Barnett returned to UFC and experienced several
MMA victories but by 2016 after a long series of drug
tests, he is once again known as a fighter who practices
doping.
JOSH BARNETT
Image source: Giant Bomb

7. In 2007, after his fight against Takanori Gomi, Diaz was
found positive of marijuana and was suspended for six
months by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC).
After five years, Diaz again came out as positive for
marijuana metabolites following his fight against Carlos
Condit in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Nick Diaz was then represented by Las Vegas criminal
defense laywer Attorney Ross Goodman who countered
that the marijuana that was in his system was ingested
“out of competition”. Goodman also helped Diaz on a
domestic violence case in 2018 where Diaz was eventually
freed of charges because of the inconsistency of the
accusations.
He remains on hiatus as of today.
NICK DIAZ
Image source: MMA Mania

8. Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva was a fighter known
for UFC and holds the most wins in PRIDE, a Japanese
martial arts company. Despite his triumphs, Silva was
tempted to dope, which was evident from his failure to
submit to drug testings before a fight with Chael Sonnen
in 2014. Silva was charged with a hefty lifetime ban by
NAC which was ultimately converted to only a three-year
ban. Silva was represented by Attorney Ross Goodman
who argued that Silva should not be under Nevada
Athletic Commission’s jurisdiction as Silva’s not a licensed
fighter.
As of 2018, Silva is signed with Bellator and had a recent
series of MMA bouts.
WANDERLEI SILVA
Image source: USA Today

9. Are you an athlete accused of doping? Even with a strong
body and mind, you cannot do it alone. Get the help of a
criminal defense lawyer today!
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