USADA Have Published The Top Five Drugs Searched for By UFC Athletes… Here’s What They Are and What They Do…
Doping has never been more talked about in MMA than now. We’ve seen Vitor Belfort almost double in size after a few months since he retired. Now he’s back to pre-USADA size Belfort and a terrifying prospect for the Bellator middleweight division. He looks like he’d eat Lyoto Machida for breakfast.
Other fighters enjoy drugs recreationally. Look at the likes of the Diaz Brothers and ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley who smoke so much weed that it’s effectively part of their brand now. That shows a change in perception of how marijuana is being perceived in today’s culture.
Of course, then you’ve got the likes of Jon Jones on cocaine, and Anderson Silva being caught taking every substance under the sun. Drugs and banned substances are a major part of fighter culture – whether we like it or not. Some are legal, some aren’t, but here’s the top five searched for by fighters, as revealed by USADA.
Top-Five Substances Most Searched By UFC Athletes:
– Cortisone
– Creatine
– Cannabis
– Cocaine
– Marijuana— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) July 2, 2018
5. Cortisone
Starting off with a legal substance, both in everyday life and in sport, cortisone is a naturally occurring hormone in the body, that is used to combat stress, inflammation and release energy necessary for fight or flight. It’s commonplace in pretty much all physical sports. However, there are no hard and fast rules to how many shots of cortisone can have. Surely this is something that needs to be looked at?
4. Creatine
Another legal substance, creatine is used to improve cellular activity in muscles and release energy for intense activity. It’s one of the go-to supplements for any gym-goer, and as such is very popular for fighters who are trying to improve output and recover from severe punishment to their bodies on a daily basis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT_jEc3W6w4
3. Cannabis
Here’s where it gets tricky. You’re probably looking at that list and asking why Cannabis and marijuana are on it when they’re the same thing. In this case, cannabis is being used to refer to the non-psychoactive version. The likes of CBD oil, which you rub on your body, or can take in a variety of forms, contain little to no THC. They can reduce stress, anxiety, increase appetite and have many health benefits. Their popularity is on the rise.
2. Marijuana
Oh, we all know which fighters love to smoke. Nate Diaz famously pretended to light up a joint at a UFC event one night, signaling his love for the green. Even more recently, ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley has built his brand around it, with Reebok even becoming edgy enough to release weed-themed t-shirts for him.
However, it isn’t all fun and games. Nick Diaz was infamously given a 5-year suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for testing positive for smoking weed. This was reduced, but it still shows the attitude towards the drug in the sport. Similarly, Cynthia Calvillo is still serving a 9-month suspension after THC was found in her urine sample after losing to Carla Esparza at UFC 219. It’s ridiculous.
1 Cocaine
Jon Jones has probably had more snow up his nose than a husky in Alaska. UFC’s biggest bad boy loves to party and makes no apologies for it. Believe it or not, cocaine isn’t illegal outside of competition. Who can forget him telling DC at a press conference:
“I had two great weekends,” answered Jones. “Back-to-back weekends. Cocaine one, your ass the next. It was great. That’s a month for the ages.”
More recently, Nick Diaz wound up in legal trouble because of his penchant for the white powder. He’s been done for domestic violence and is currently released on bail. Oh yeah, increased aggression is a side-effect of cocaine. It’s not all fun and games.
