Doping in MMA/UFC - Fighter Says 85-95 Percent of Fighters Use PEDs

[TylerDurden1]

Krzysztof Soszynski the "Polish Experiment" was on MMA Hour radio show and talked about PEDs in the sport. This interview is somewhat old, but i still found it interesting since I'm a huge mma and boxing fan ...

(PED talk starts at 2:00)

Link
http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/08/17/krzysztof-soszynski-says-at-least-85-percent-of-fighters-defini/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl8%7Csec1_lnk3%7C87437

I've always wondered why so many good fighters come out of specific camps ... this might have something to do with that.

"I would definitely say somewhere in the percentage of 85 percent of guys are definitely using, especially the guys who can afford it are definitely using," said Soszynski. "I would even go as high as 95 to 96 percent of the top level athletes that are definitely using it. You can clearly see it. I even had someone talk to me about stem cell injections. You're looking at stuff like EPO, and at least five or six different counterfeit drugs out there that people are using and they're not even detectable in the body. It's just amazing to me how far athletes are willing to go to make their mark in this sport. I haven't used [PEDs] for mixed martial arts," he said. "Back in the days when I was a bodybuilder, obviously it was a little different. But for mixed martial arts, I don't. I don't believe in it."

"I totally agree [with random testing]. Ten weeks out, eight weeks out, six weeks out -- that's when all the training happens. That's when you're training at your hardest, at your peak. Every athlete who knows how to train properly knows they're going to have to taper off two weeks, two and a half weeks out from their fight so they'll be in perfect condition for their fight. All the hard training happens eight, ten weeks [from the fight]. That's the time when everybody's doing their drug abuse and that's when they're taking their testosterone and their steroids. That's when I think fighters should be tested. It's just part of guys trying to become the best," said Soszynski. "You want to become the best, you're going to do anything and everything you can to become the best, and this is one of those things."

 

[hiero2]

I'm hardly surprised, but it is nice to see my thinking validated by something a bit more substantial. Look at old boxing matches - those guys worked out just as hard, AND came from a world where not everybody was overweight from the age of 2 - and they are nowhere near as ripped as all these MMA guys. Not to mention the muscle development. You mentioned body building - only there do we find earlier examples of the types of physiques we see in MMA daily, and doping in body building is well documented.

 

[D-Queued]

Am I missing something?

What is the controversy here?

That 10-15% of the fighters failed the IQ test?

Dave.

 

[blackcat]

funny, the guy is doping an denies it to the interviewer.

the interviewer, the number one MMA media commentator, also looks like he has hgh symptoms, no subcutaneous white tissue and red tissue on his visage.

The MMA fighter, no fat whatsoever, but lots of muscle, lots of denying!

Should be an inverse relationship between muscle mass, and bodyfat. There will be natural predisposition to low bodyfat, or high fat percentages. BUT, you remove the "individual" potential sampling error, but taking an entire sample of boxers from the 70s, and comparing them to an entire sample of boxers/mma fighters today.

So not about this MMA fighter. Take the entire sample and compare, and you will see that they hold no non-functional tissue content. The intrafacial tissue riven of all tissue. Compare the boxers in 80s, to now. They had cheeks. This fighter above, not one scintilla of red tissue on his cheeks.

 

[blackcat]

see the head of the UFC. Dana White. See him ten year ago. Size of his head . Lots of steroids by the head of the UFC.

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

The funny thing is looking at MMA guys over the last decade.

They started as fat-*ssed bar-room brawlers, and are now looking like the fittest Muthas on earth.

I have to admit that I love the strategy and technique of the MMA fights, but I sure don't take it seriously as a "real" sport.

I have to say I'd rather watch mid-weight MMA than mid-weight boxing.

 

[Altitude]

That was pretty good. Don't think I've ever heard anything like it from an athlete who is still competing. I wonder if this guy is contempt by the majority of his colleagues.

Anyways what he says doesn't surprise me. I've always assumed MMA was absolutely filthy.

 

[The Hitch]

The thing one has to consider about MMA is that can actually be more healthy to dope than it is not to.

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

I know Soszynski and I think he trains with Dan Henderson. He is not the only one to speak out on PEDs in MMA. Josh Koscheck and BJ Penn have accused George St Pierre of using PEDs in the past.

At the time of the Overeem situation Dana White said the UFC can't afford to do blood tests and it's hard for them to do out of competition tests within their budget. Yet at the same time he said it's the most regulated sport in the world which I think is laughable.

I used to watch a good bit of it before and I was at the UFC 93 event in Dublin when Dan Henderson fought Rich Franklin and Shogun was fighting Mark Coleman but I have'nt followed it as much lately.

That beggars belief. The UFC over-bought every other league on the planet, and have exclusive rights to American TV and PPV. At this point, White literally has money flowing out of his *ss.

Dana White is the UCI of MMA, and is only looking for a good show and a sweet return on TV rights and revenue.

He is not looking for clean athletes, he's looking for good fights.

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

Victor Conte says bogus TUE's for Testo is very common in MMA. I'm sure most of these scrawny guys suffer from low T.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

I follow MMA/UFC and yea Dana White can be full of ****.

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

If they're doing what White's saying, then good on them.

Probably more than the major team sports in most of the world are doing, or at least as much.

He's also gotta fight the stereotype of it being a "brutal and vicious" spectacle. I give it a lot more than that.

White's a brilliant promoter, there is no doubt about that.

 

[SilentAssassin]

I'd have a hard time seeing Anderson Silva used PEDS, the greatest fighter the UFC has ever seen. I mean the guy doesn't look very muscular at all. In fact, he looks like a normal skinny dude. But he is just vicious and so skilled in the ring. That's all natural talent. I won't say this goes for all fighters, but I think Anderson is clean, or at least I want to believe he's clean.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

I have to say I'd rather watch mid-weight MMA than mid-weight boxing.

I don't really see why.

Unless you have a deep, technical, knowledge of grappling, MMA is an ugly and graceless sport. Boxing used to incorporate many wrestling elements. These were gradually removed, leaving only the clinch, as the sport was gradually made more spectator friendly. There was a constant pressure towards purer and purer striking, because it made for a better spectacle even though a one-sided emphasis on striking is considerably less than optimal in fighting terms.

MMA is skillfully promoted and in particular sells itself effectively, if inaccurately, as "real fighting" rather than a sporting code. Its main competition, boxing, is an obviously corrupt mess, where it is in most of the main players interest to keep the best fighters away from each other and milk local or national crowds with one sided fights. So MMA has been making considerable inroads into boxing's incredibly long dominance as the main spectator combat sport. But boxing dominated so completely in spectator terms for so long for very good reasons. It really is better to watch than other combat sports, none of which really had their evolution driven by the need to entertain paying spectators.

 

[BroDeal]

I would be surprised it is lower than 95%.

 

[TylerDurden1]

Overeem 2006

Overeem 2012

 

[TylerDurden1]

The worst one for me was when he said in 2008 while over in Britain for a UFC fight, that MMA/UFC will be the biggest sport in the world in 10 years time and be even bigger than football in the UK.

Dana a little silly with his ideas, MMA will continue to grow but it will never surpass soccer/football, and the NFL will always be bigger than MMA here in the US.

 

[D-Queued]

Overeem 2006

...


Overeem 2012

...

He got a haircut?

Dave.

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

I don't really see why.

Unless you have a deep, technical, knowledge of grappling, MMA is an ugly and graceless sport. Boxing used to incorporate many wrestling elements. These were gradually removed, leaving only the clinch, as the sport was gradually made more spectator friendly. There was a constant pressure towards purer and purer striking, because it made for a better spectacle even though a one-sided emphasis on striking is considerably less than optimal in fighting terms.

MMA is skillfully promoted and in particular sells itself effectively, if inaccurately, as "real fighting" rather than a sporting code. Its main competition, boxing, is an obviously corrupt mess, where it is in most of the main players interest to keep the best fighters away from each other and milk local or national crowds with one sided fights. So MMA has been making considerable inroads into boxing's incredibly long dominance as the main spectator combat sport. But boxing dominated so completely in spectator terms for so long for very good reasons. It really is better to watch than other combat sports, none of which really had their evolution driven by the need to entertain paying spectators.

I think you're utterly missing the point of what MMA is, due largely to your boxing bias.

It's not supposed to be modified boxing. It's Mixed Martial Arts, and includes elements of those arts that are not only legitimate but have pedigrees as impressive as boxing.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Look at old boxing matches - those guys worked out just as hard, AND came from a world where not everybody was overweight from the age of 2 - and they are nowhere near as ripped as all these MMA guys.

Interesting perspective. I liken it to baseball when guys like Mike Schmidt who was "big" in the 70's, would be puny in the steroid era.

The most built heavyweight boxers from the 70's 80's were probably Ken Norton, and maybe Mike Weaver. But as you go down the weight classes in boxing, guys like Hearns, Hagler, Fenech, Chandler, etc. were pretty cut. But they were maybe in the 5% group. The majority looked like Oscar De La Hoya, Larry Holmes, or Roberto Duran. Fit to be certain, super talented, but not like insanely ripped like guys today that make up the 95%.

 

[spalco]

I'd have a hard time seeing Anderson Silva used PEDS, the greatest fighter the UFC has ever seen. I mean the guy doesn't look very muscular at all. In fact, he looks like a normal skinny dude. But he is just vicious and so skilled in the ring. That's all natural talent. I won't say this goes for all fighters, but I think Anderson is clean, or at least I want to believe he's clean.

If anyone's clean, Anderson is. But physique doesn't really tell the whole story. He might be using testo occasionally too for example (although that almost isn't even doping anymore in MMA considering how many guys have TUEs for it).

 

[Nocontest]

I recall an interview with a prominent NFL player in the mid 80's who was asked if he knew any players who were on steroids. His reply was that he didn't know any that weren't.

 

[blackcat]

I'm hardly surprised, but it is nice to see my thinking validated by something a bit more substantial. Look at old boxing matches - those guys worked out just as hard, AND came from a world where not everybody was overweight from the age of 2 - and they are nowhere near as ripped as all these MMA guys. Not to mention the muscle development. You mentioned body building - only there do we find earlier examples of the types of physiques we see in MMA daily, and doping in body building is well documented.

this is my point.

It resolves the sampling error, or an individual outlier or unique example.

And entire sample from 80 v 2010. It will show the difference to your eyes. And check Silv's head. Obvious hgh user.

 

[spalco]

this is my point.

It resolves the sampling error, or an individual outlier or unique example.

And entire sample from 80 v 2010. It will show the difference to your eyes. And check Silv's head. Obvious hgh user.

Maybe. He's getting kind of old too, and I think he said he wants to fight another five years or so. I doubt you can do that (at this level) without pharmaceutical support, no matter how talented you are.

 

[Roninho]

I don't really see why.

Unless you have a deep, technical, knowledge of grappling, MMA is an ugly and graceless sport. Boxing used to incorporate many wrestling elements. These were gradually removed, leaving only the clinch, as the sport was gradually made more spectator friendly. There was a constant pressure towards purer and purer striking, because it made for a better spectacle even though a one-sided emphasis on striking is considerably less than optimal in fighting terms.

MMA is skillfully promoted and in particular sells itself effectively, if inaccurately, as "real fighting" rather than a sporting code. Its main competition, boxing, is an obviously corrupt mess, where it is in most of the main players interest to keep the best fighters away from each other and milk local or national crowds with one sided fights. So MMA has been making considerable inroads into boxing's incredibly long dominance as the main spectator combat sport. But boxing dominated so completely in spectator terms for so long for very good reasons. It really is better to watch than other combat sports, none of which really had their evolution driven by the need to entertain paying spectators.

Apart from the politics involved and probably the negative effect on it on the 'product' of boxing, i simply don't agree that boxing in itself is better to watch than other combat sports. Imo boxing will never be what it used to be because the alternatives in combat sports better suits what a large portion of the public (which is interested in combat sports) wantst to watch. Shorter, direct action, more diverse action compared to the longer boxing fights which seems to be more of a sport for the insiders who can appreciate a long set up attack and tactics used through all the rounds.