The extravagant demands of Floyd Mayweather Jr. to require all his opponents to undergo an Olympic style blood testing may have contributed something good to professional sports. Others criticize Mayweather for his actions which many consider as promotional efforts to sell his fights. On the other hand, the boxer has a basis for requesting for a stricter test in sports since many athletes were using performance enhancing drugs particularly anabolic steroids.

The UFC may be the next one to adopt an Olympic style blood testing. There were already a handful of mixed martial arts fighters involved in the use of steroids so instituting a comprehensive blood testing will help clean the sport with PED’s. But the real motive of some fighters may be questioned because they could be using this issue to hype their fights.

In the press conference for the Season 12 of the “The Ultimate Fighter,” coach and fighter Josh Koscheck said that his future opponent Georges St. Pierre should undergo an Olympic style blood testing. Georges St. Pierre has been into steroid spotlight in the previous months because of allegations that he was using steroids. One of his accusers is BJ Penn who believes that GSP is not 100% clean. He used this issue in their pre-fight and post-fight at UFC 94. Currently, athletic commissions use urine tests to determine if an athlete is using steroids or not. However, there are other performance enhancers that can only be detected in blood tests.

Although, Georges St. Pierre have not failed a test, his future opponent wants to be sure that he is not pumping his body with performance enhancers. “From what I’ve heard from other fighters in other camps, yeah, (St. Pierre) has done steroids and HGH. But Koscheck is not sure if these allegations were true. “I don’t know. This is just on hearsay information that I’ve gotten. That’s just speculation, but it’s a possibility,” Koscheck told news agencies.

Koscheck also admitted that he received more information from the BJ Penn’s camp. “B.J. Penn and his camp gave me a little phone call. They were saying, ‘Yeah, he’s on steroids. He’s this; he’s that.’ I said, ‘Yeah, there’s a possibility.’ The guy is pretty ripped all year round,” he told MMA Junkie.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship 12 is scheduled in December where coaches will be fighting in the main event. Koscheck on his part is willing to undergo an Olympic style blood testing. “I would love to do it; why not?” he said. He believes that adopting this kind of testing will be good for UFC. “I think Olympic-style testing would be great for our sport. At least you do it a couple times out from the fight. I think it will be a great idea,” he added.

St. Pierre also accepted the challenge and he also want this kind of testing in the sport. “I stand for that more than anybody else,” said St. Pierre. “I just hope it will happen soon because I know a lot of people cheat in this sport, and it’s unacceptable. I am all for random blood testing. Nobody in the UFC agrees on that more than me,” he added.

And the MMA champ has something to say against his future opponent for asking him to undergo blood testing. “I have no problem — any time he wants,” he said. “I’m not a coward and somebody that uses steroids is a cheater. I am not afraid of Josh Koscheck and I don’t have to cheat to beat him,” St. Pierre added.

St. Pierre believes that steroids were really helping fighters to gain more advantage in the ring. Genetics, style, skills and the heart to win makes a good fighter according to GSP. However, the use of steroids is a big factor that will change the outcome of a fight. “What makes a good fighter is a lot of things: genetics, style, skills, heart. But now, there’s another factor that influences a fight and that’s the team of doctors behind the fighter. This should not be an element that helps a fighter,” he said.

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