Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is ramping up its war on performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) with a new plan that was revealed last month during a special press conference (video) hosted by Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta.
Some of the changes include testing every single fighter on every single card, as well as looking at the possibility of handing out lengthier suspensions (details).
But, if Matt Brown -- who takes on Johny Hendricks this Saturday (March 14, 2015) at UFC 185 in Dallas, Texas -- was running the show, he would hand out five-year suspensions to offenders. That way, by the time you come back, people will have likely forgotten about you.
Which is exactly what "Immortal" believes should happen to steroid users in his conversation with TheSHOOT! (Via MMA Fighting):
"My thoughts on the steroid controversy: I'm glad to hear that the UFC is doing things about the steroids. The No. 1 thing to do is harsher penalties. First offense, five-year ban. Yeah, that's going to sway a lot of guys. It's going to turn a lot of guys away from doing it. You'd have to really, really turn yourself around to be able to come back from that. You'd be forgotten about and that's the way it should be. You should be forgotten about. If you're going to take steroids you should be forgotten about. If it's against the rules, it's against the rules. The fact is, it's cheating. Harsher penalties is the way to go."
That's one way to go about it.
UFC was hit hard with one failed drug test after another to begin what would otherwise be a very successful 2015 for the promotion.
Perhaps the biggest blow, though, was when former middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, was popped for steroids for his fight against Nick Diaz at UFC 183 in late January. Silva's constant denial only tarnished his image further when it was revealed he had flunked a second test due to taking anti-anxiety meds.
Interestingly enough, prior to getting popped, "The Spider" himself declared that a fighter should have "no more fights" if he or she gets busted for steroids.