Props: Riddum.com
Quoteworthy:
"50 percent [of MMA fighters take steroids], if not more.... What can I say, other than we need to stay away from all of that. It's not easy to put things into perspective, especially if you believe that you have a disadvantage from the get go. For some athletes, it's hard to hold up physically and mentally- the pressure, the obligation to stay on top - everything pushes you to take steroids. For me, PEDs aren't the solution. Taking PEDs jeopardizes your health and it's cheating. I am a fighter; I owe my victories to my hard work, my training, the fact that I push myself beyond the limit, the sacrifices I make to a life almost entirely dedicated to sports. Nothing else. Stay away from the needles. You can succeed without them."
Shredded heavyweight fighter Cheick Kongo weighs in on steroids in mixed martial arts, striking a similar chord to other fighters who estimate that the performance-enhancing problem is much bigger behind the scenes than it appears publicly. Kongo, whose physique looks like it was chiseled out of Greek marble, has had to beat back unfounded steroid allegations throughout his career. It's all just a byproduct of hard work, and likely good genes, he says. But he takes the issues one step farther, saying that the drug problem is widespread. Is the Parisian, as well as the others (Ken Shamrock, Dennis Hallman, etc.) who have blown the whistle on rampant steroid use, revealing a sad truth or is he just painting recklessly with broad strokes? The number of fighters who have tested positive in recent months/years in relation to the large number of them who have come up clean would suggest he's way off base. But where there's smoke there is often fire -- are most fighters just one step ahead of the commissions that test them? Can it really be that many? Let's hear it, Maniacs.