Veteran UFC commentator Joe Rogan has given his two cents on the recent performance enhancing drugs controversy in MMA
Following the failed drug tests from Anderson Silva and, more recently, Hector Lombard, Rogan spoke out on his podcast about what he claims is an epidemic in the sport. The former Fear Factor presenter also estimated that over half of the fighters in the promotion are on banned substances.
The UFC and MMA in general is a steroid epidemic. They’ve started this really stringent testing, and everybody is getting popped. They’re just getting popped left and right. It’s one of the things fighters have been saying for a long time, that everyone is on steroids, or a huge percentage. The number is 50, 60 percent, whatever it is.
Rogan hinted that MMA legend Anderson Silva might not have been a perpetual juicer. He claimed that the former middleweight champ could have been using steroids to speed up his recovery from the double leg break he suffered courtesy of a Chris Weidman kick check at UFC 168.
Anderson was coming back from an injury, and the way I understand it, he tested positive for metabolites. It was leaving his system, a very trace amount. If that was the case, it could be that he got on some steroids to recover quicker. Because what steroids do, is they allow you to recover quicker.
However, Rogan admitted that this was not an adequate reason for breaking the rules of the sport
So if he’s 39 years old and he breaks his leg, you’re looking at a long-ass recovery period. Or you take steroids and you recover in nine months instead of 15 months or fill in the blank. That could be what’s going on, but the reality is it’s illegal. If it takes you 15 months, the excuse cannot be, ‘I’m going to take some illegal drugs so I heal quicker.’ No, you’re never allowed to take steroids.
With PED use among MMA fighters (or fighters getting caught on PEDs) appearing to be on the rise, Rogan is fearful of the impact using a relatively new substance could have on the health of the athletes.
The reality is, especially with this whole steroid epidemic, one thing we have to realise is the use of steroids is less than 100 years old. There’s always been something people have taken, but the actual use of anabolic steroids in human beings is relatively recent in human history.
As time goes on, they’re going to create more powerful, crazy shit, and it’s going to get to the point where you’re going to test negative because it’s not in your system anymore, but your body will forever change.
