If you can some up the year 2012 in combat sports with a few words, you can easily label it the year of the PED. More athletes in boxing and MMA were busted for PED usage thru failed drug tests in this year than in any other in recent memory; for MMA in specific, since 2007. Lamont Peterson, Alistair Overeem, Cris “Cyborg” Santos, Melvin Guillard are some of the athletes who tested positive this year, not to mention those who tested positive for Marijuana metabolites which include Nick Diaz and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
If the current trend continues, there are dark days ahead on cleaning up both sports and action needs to be taken by state athletic commissions and the UFC for more stringent and comprehensive testing. Stephan Bonnar and Dave Herman are the latest to join the list; Bonnar tested positive for the anabolic steroid drostanolone while Dave Herman had Marijuana metabolites in his system. Both fighters broke the rules, even though to many Marijuana is a performance de-enhancer. We took to Las Vegas over the weekend to ask these fighters peers their opinions on these failed drug tests as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Travis Browne, Eddie Alvarez, Ed Soares and others all chimed in with their opinions.
