Few people were surprised by a recent Deadspin report that claimed Vitor Belfort failed a drug test prior to his light heavyweight title bout with Jon Jones at UFC 152.
What did surprise people, however, was that the failed test was kept under wraps for so long.
Dan Henderson - Belfort's opponent at UFC Fight Night 77 - knows all about the Brazilian veteran's sketchy history with failed drug screenings, so the report didn't shock him in the least.
"I wasn't surprised he failed the drug test," Henderson told MMAFighting.com's Guilherme Cruz. "I was just surprised that it didn’t come out until now. You know, it happened two, three years ago."
Henderson, who owns a 1-1 record against Belfort, was hoping to face "The Young Dinosaur" on American soil, but is content with the effectiveness of the UFC's partnership with the USADA, and their new, more stringent drug testing policy.
"I don't know. I mean, who knows what Vitor was taking, I just know that his body looked completely different," Henderson said of their 2013 bout, when they were both on TRT. "I don't know, I just think … I'm beating Vitor regardless of him being on drugs or not. I'm still capable of beating him, and I'm happy that the UFC has implemented its drug testing, something that I've been asking for a long time."
As a former Olympian, out-of-competition testing is relatively old hat for Henderson, who said he's been tested twice in the lead up to UFC Fight Night 77.
"It definitely helps doing out-of-competition drug testing, with no advanced notice," Henderson said. "That's something I had in my life for a long time, being on the national Olympic team for wrestling in the United States. For 15 years, I was subject to it. When I started fighting MMA there was no drug testing. I'm pretty happy now, and I'm confident that be sure Vitor and other fighters won't use PEDs."
