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Now that the UFC is making its second trip to TX, they know to ask for drug testing. Oddly enough, the Texan Department of Licensing and Regulation does not require drug testing for all sports. This trip, the UFC has already requested that drug tests take place.
"Our rules were and still are that we do not require drug testing (for combat sports)," TDLR spokeswoman Susan Stanford told MMAJunkie.com. "To my knowledge, we are not considering a change to our policy."
This problem occurred at UFC 69, in 2007, where no fighters were tested. The Department of Licenseing and Regulation thought that the UFC was managing their own drug tests. The UFC, on the other hand, assumed that the regulation commission would manage the tests, as is custom in most states.
For UFC 103, the promotion has already taken the necessary precautions to ensure that the fighters will be safe and will all fight with the same capacity.
"We have asked for testing to be conducted at the event," said Marc Ratner, the UFC's vice-president of reulatory affairs. "There will be random testing conducted."
The UFC is strict about the use of illegal substances and performance-enhancing drugs being illegal in the sport. They have suspended fighters for testing positive for such substances.
In Texas, if there is good cause for a fighter to be tested, Stanford said, the TDLR executive director can order a drug test. But there has to be evidence that a fighter might be using performance-enhancing drugs. If the test is ordered, the expenses are given to the fighter, and they must pay for the test.
UFC 103 is set for this Saturday, Sept. 19, with Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort as the headlining bout. Other bots that will take place are: Junior dos Santos vs. Mirko Filipovic; Paul Daley vs. Martin Kampmann; Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg; and Hermes Franca vs. Tyson Griffin.
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