Nelson questions USADA's transparency ahead of UFC Brasilia
Roy Nelson is not happy with the recent returns on the UFC's year-old partnership with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
The longtime UFC heavyweight's gripes come days before he's to face Antonio Silva at UFC Fight Night 95 on Saturday. Facing an opponent who's been flagged twice for banned substances, Nelson has a bone to pick with the way their pre-fight tests have been handled.
"We got USADA doing the testing, and I got tested last week, and I said, 'Are the tests going to be back before the card I'm fighting on?' They said they don't know. So that's how good USADA is."
The "Jeff" in the post's hashtag is UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky. Nelson, who claims he's yet to receive the results of his last test on Sep. 7, would like to know how the UFC's drug-testing budget is being parceled.
"I want to know how much Jeff Novitzky gets paid and how much USADA gets paid because I could take their jobs and do a 10 times better job,” Nelson said, according to MMAjunkie's Mike Bohn. "I'd actually just make sure it actually counts and not give certain guys a pass. Then, when there's a guy we don't care about, he all of a sudden pops or pops after the fight then suspend them for a year after you've already made money off them. It doesn't make any sense."
Nelson is presumably referring to Brock Lesnar, who's facing sanctions for potential doping violations surrounding his fight with Mark Hunt at UFC 200. Lesnar, who was exempted from the four-month testing period mandatory for fighters coming out of retirement, earned a $2.5-million fight purse, a UFC record at the time, and wasn't flagged until after the event.
As a result of the potential leniency surrounding Lesnar's case, "Big Country" is calling for test results to be released before fights, adding he'd willingly make an effort to help tighten the still young protocol if asked.
"It can definitely get better. I'll take Jeff's job and still keep my job, and I could do a better job because it's not that hard. It's not that hard to do the smell test."
Nelson's upcoming bout with Silva marks the seventh time he'll have fought an opponent who's failed a drug test. He does not know when "Bigfoot" was last tested.