Over the years, fighters who boasted an squeaky clean record of 50 clean drug tests were awarded a congratulatory jacket and an internal stamp of approval from the UFC’s Senior Vice President of Athlete Health & Performance, Jeff Novitsky.
However, when the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the UFC amicably parted ways in January, after a historic eight year partnership, it left one lingering question for fight fans.
Are the floodgates of performance enhancement about to open?
Then, on Wednesday USADA officials delivered a shockingly transparent statement, as the anti-doping agency conceded that the collaboration had reached an "untenable" juncture, largely due to the controversial return of the Conor McGregor. The former two-time champion had just declared his re-entry into the realm of USADA-administered drug testing, following months of operating outside the parameters of the testing protocols during his recovery from a grievous leg injury sustained at UFC 264.
The reverberations of this development swept through the MMA community, stirring up a myriad of responses from some of the most prominent names in sport.
