4. Josh Barnett vs. Randy Couture UFC 36
38 year old Josh Barnett seems like he has been a top heavyweight in MMA since the dawning of the sport’s modern era.
The droopy torso’d fighter doesn’t look like someone who has spent his entire career using performance enhancing drugs, but up until USADA testing came into place, Barnett spent his entire career on PEDs.
In 2001, following his UFC 34 victory over Bobby Hoffman, Barnett tested positive for banned substances. Because Josh Barnett isn’t Nick Diaz, the athletic commission let him off with only a warning. It was evidently a poor warning.
Despite the failed drug test Barnett’s next fight was for the UFC heavyweight championship against then-champion Randy Couture. Barnett defeated Couture at UFC 36 but then once again failed a post-fight drug test. Despite the failed test his victory over Couture was not over-turned, as regulation regarding the sport at the time was not overly rigid. The UFC did strip him of the title however, and Barnett moved his fight career to Japan, where they weren’t testing anybody for anything at the time.
