GSP Formally Enrolls In USADA Drug-Testing Program Ahead Of Potential UFC Return

With all of the talk lately regarding the potential Octagon return of legendary former UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre, who has called out a laundry list of champions and top stars in multiple weight-classes, there has been very little concrete evidence of him actually beginning the technical process of returning — until now.

GSP spoke with BloodyElbow.com this week and as we noted earlier today, he made it clear he would like to see former rival Nick Diaz standing across the Octagon from him at some point during his latest rumored run with the promotion.

St-Pierre was one of the more high-profile fighters to publicly speak out about the growing, out-of-control performance-enhancing drug epidemic in the sport of mixed-martial-arts, which many feel ultimately led to the UFC out-sourcing and implementing a brand new, zero-tolerance Anti-Doping Policy for all fighters on their active roster, including out-of-competition, random drug tests — anywhere, any place, anytime.

Coincidentally enough, Nick Diaz, whom GSP spoke of in the aforementioned interview, just finished serving an 18-month suspension handed down by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) for a failed drug test (marijuana metabolites), which was actually initially a five-year sentence that was eventually reduced after an overwhelming showing of support from the MMA community.

During the same interview, “Rush” announced that he has enrolled in the mandatory USADA testing program that all fighters coming out of retirement must take part in, which thus far only former UFC Heavyweight Champion and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) crossover athlete Brock Lesnar has received an exemption from when he came out of MMA retirement as an active WWE-contracted star who was given permission by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to make a surprise return against Mark Hunt at the landmark UFC 200 pay-per-view event last month.

Ironically enough, Lesnar, as the first person to receive special consideration regarding the new USADA policy in the UFC, would go on to fail both his out-of-competition and day-of, in-competition drug tests for banned substances, as the mandatory two-year suspension wouldn’t exactly matter to him once he returns back to his “day job” in WWE, which goes down one day after the big UFC 202 event with Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 2, as he faces Randy Orton at WWE’s annual SummerSlam pay-per-view at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

GSP, who does plan to stay around, told Bloody Elbow’s Ram Gilboa this week that he absolutely wants no special consideration regarding the new Anti-Doping Policy, and has submitted a formal request to enter the USADA drug testing pool so he can be cleared and eligible to return to the Octagon, possibly as soon as later this year.

I don’t want to be an exception, because I was very outspoken about performance-enhancing drugs,” St-Pierre told Gilboa. “It would be bad for my reputation if I would have an exemption — I don’t want to have a free pass, I want to be like everybody else. That’s why I’ll be starting the process Aug 10. I don’t have any fight yet, but it’s gonna happen now, because I’m getting tested, if I’m getting tested it’s for a reason.”

St-Pierre last fought at UFC 167 back on November 16, 2013, where he successfully defended his UFC Welterweight Championship against dangerous knockout artist and powerhouse wrestler Johny Hendricks, earning a widely contested split decision after five closely fought rounds.

Related News

Top Stories

UFC Store

Sean Strickland Ousts Eric Nicksick From His Corner Team After Public Criticism Of UFC 312 Performance

While former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland doesn't appear to have any animosity toward...

Dustin Poirier On Ilia Topuria’s Lightweight Hopes: ‘I Think Islam Is Too Much, But…’

Dustin Poirier is intrigued by a potential showdown between UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria...

Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy In The Works For UFC Fight Night Main Event At The Apex

A clash between hard-hitting featherweight contenders is targeted for the main event of the...

Zhang Weili Reveals Condition UFC Has Laid Down For Potential Two-Division Title Challenge

Should UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili commit to a pursuit of more glory,...

Usman Nurmagomedov: Conor McGregor’s Kids Have To Live With The Fact Khabib ‘Kicked His Ass’

Usman Nurmagomedov isn't fazed by UFC star Conor McGregor's continued focus on his cousin...

Michael Chandler Pitches Matchup For UFC 317 Return At International Fight Week

Former UFC lightweight title challenger Michael Chandler is eyeing his next fight — and...

Tatiana Suarez Shows Off Graphic Stitched-Up Knee Gash After UFC 312 Fight

Tatiana Suarez's UFC 312 strawweight title fight against Zhang Weili took a dramatic and...

Brandon Royval Describes ‘Severe’ Health Issue That Led To UFC Fight Night Main Event Withdrawal

Brandon Royval has gone into detail on why he withdrew from his scheduled UFC...

Paddy Pimblett Has A Problem With Ilia Topuria’s Champ-Champ Talk: ‘He Is Not McGregor!’

Paddy Pimblett has downplayed Ilia Topuria's chances of challenging Islam Makhachev for the UFC...