MMA has had an uneasy relationship with performance enhancing drugs for years, and lately it’s become downright hostile. In the 90’s, what was known more commonly as “no holds barred” cage fighting was essentially a free for all of performance enhancing drug users. Men with bulging biceps, taking their ‘skills’ straight from the weight bench to the Octagon.
As the sport moved forward and looked to gain it’s place in the public eye, mixed martial arts adopted athletic commission drug testing standards. That meant administering pre & post-fight drug tests, but during the months between fights, MMA was still largely free of oversight.