Mixed martial arts is not exempted in steroid controversies. It was on March 22, 2002 that this sport was tainted with the controversy when Josh Barnett tested positive for Boldenone (Equipoise). This was after his win at the UFC heavyweight championship from Randy Couture at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. After his title, Barnette and the UFC got entangled in a contract disagreement. Barnett also denied the result of the test and tried to conflate the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s test results with the contract dispute. But since the match happened long before Nevada had the authority to overturn decisions based on a drug positive test, it is listed as Couture’s very first loss in the octagon.

Because of this controversy, Barnett never fought in the UFC again and left for Japan for pro wrestling and for PRIDE organization. Couture, who also trained with Barnett in the past, also declined to accept the championship back.

As the third live event in Las Vegas over a seven-month period, that draws 8,327 fans, means that the show established UFC could return to a market on a regular basis and draw as much crowd as possible. It was also a glimpse into the future of crowds as the UFC crowd is considered as the smartest ever to see an event.

Two mixed martial arts fighters, Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca have also been suspended and fined for use of steroids. Sherk defended his Ultimate Championship title against Franca on July 7, 2007 in Sacramento. The five-round bout between 155-punders ended with Shrek as the winner. The California State Athletic Commission conducted the drug tests and found Sherk with traces of Nandrolone Metabolite and Franca on the other hand with Drostanolone, an anabolic agent.

UFC has also suspended October main-event fighter Chris Leben for nine months because the fighter tested positive for steroid stanozolol following his unanimous-decision loss to Michael Bisping last October 18, 2008 in Birmingham, England. UFC President Dana expressed his disappointment over Leben since he had “made great strides getting his life back on track,” referring to Leben’s past battle with alcohol use. “But as always, the UFC puts the safety of its athletes first and foremost, and we won’t tolerate anyone using performance-enhancing drugs in our organization,” he added.

But unlike so many other athletes who have been tested positive for steroid or drug, Leben confronted his suspension with an admission. “There is a huge setback for me, but it is something I will have to deal with,” he said. “During my time off from fighting, I want to speak to kids about the dangers of using performance-enhancing agents and let them know it just doesn’t get you ahead in life.”

In this, another UFC star has been added to the list of prominent athletes associated with anabolic steroids. Former UFC star Ken Shamrock has tested positive for three different banned substances. He failed a drug test before his February 13 victory over Ross Clifton in Fresno, California. Shamrock is suspended from all mixed martial arts competition nationwide until Feb. 1, 2010.

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