Georges St-Pierre on drug tests in UFC: “Its still easy to pass drug test, even now with USADA”
Throughout the majority of his legendary UFC career, Georges St-Pierre has prided himself in being one of the more clean fighters in the company, having a history of passing all of his drug tests since the UFC first incorporated it back in 2013. At the same time, GSP has dealt with his share of accusation’s and criticisms of taking performance enhancing drugs (PED’s), mostly from Nate Diaz due to his massive frame when he fought at welterweight.
Despite the criticism, GSP has always kept himself clean in terms of being at the proper weight. All that being said, GSP has been boldly vocal about fighters handling themselves when making weight for their fight and passing their drug test. While a guest on UFC Commentator Joe Rogan’s podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, St-Pierre further expressed how drug tests are fairly easy to pass especially when USADA is involved, though he firmly believes the unfortunate reality that those who have and do cheat with their drug tests will sadly still be apart of the UFC.
“Even now, it’s still easy to [cheat]. Even now,” GSP said.
“Let’s say I want to have an injection of a product that will last in my body for two days or one day. So I know that particular day I cannot be tested, because if I am, I’m screwed. So I put on my [USADA] whereabouts [app] that I’m traveling to freakin’ Antarctica or anywhere, somewhere that is believable, and then I come back two days after. That substance will stay in my body for a certain period of time, but the effect of it will last maybe a month. And now we’re talking about performance enhancing drugs — people, they misunderstand this.
“They go, ‘Well yeah, but it still doesn’t make a difference.’ Yes, it does make the different in an athlete,” St-Pierre continued. “And the reason, in the eighties and before, [PEDs gave] you more power, more stamina, more endurance. Now, man, with the technology, they have stuff that will change your reaction time, your confidence, your reset time. And this is a huge, huge application, man. If you play baseball or you’re fighting, you see the things coming, you have your reaction time, you’re sharper in the brain. What makes a guy athletic, it’s not his muscle. The reason why Usain Bolt ran faster — there’s many reasons why, but one of the main reasons is because his brain, his nervous system is faster.
“And if you make your nervous system better and more competent, you’re a better athlete. You’re a better fighter, you’re a better baseball player. You’re a better person, in a way. Of course that effect is limited, but there’s still the muscle memory thing that will last and it could last forever.”
GSP for the longest, has been an advocate for PED’s in the UFC, recently demanding for more improvement with the tests, even disputing with then UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks about having out of competition testing transpire with VADA leading up to their UFC 167 welterweight championship bout in November of 2013. Hendricks ultimately agreed to go through with the procedure but quickly backed down which made GSP extremely angry. Since then, Hendricks has lost the last few UFC fights since the launch of the UFC-USADA partnering; you can say that’s a coincidence or suffering effects. St-Pierre was posed with the question if he thought Hendricks was indeed cheating ahead of their championship fight.
“You asked me if I think he was taking [PEDs]? I don’t know,” St-Pierre said. “I have suspicions, but it’s not right if you don’t have the evidence to accuse someone. And even today, do I think there’s a lot of guys who take steroids and performance-enhancing drugs? Yes. And I have an idea of who, and I’m pretty — like, just for my gut feeling — 99.9 percent sure. But I don’t have the evidence.
“It’s not what you think, it’s not what you know. It’s what you can prove. And I don’t know. I’m in the game, I’m talking to a lot of people. Between fighters, we know who does. There’s only a few handful of people who do the whole thing [in regards to supplying PEDs]. One guy could do this team, this team, this team, and one other guy can do two teams. The word goes around, man. Especially when you’re a complete fighter, the word goes around.”
In all, St-Pierre is pleased at how the UFC’s drug testing process is being operated presently as compared to how it was previously handled. He also said technology access with cheaters will allow them to be one step ahead of all those who are trying track them down.
“It’s very hard to catch people. So like I said, it’s easy to take something,” St-Pierre said. “There is a always a chance that you get caught, but if I would do it, that’s how I would do it. I would pretend I’m going to Antarctica, get an injection, then I come back and I’m good.”
Do you believe GSP’s philosophy about drug test-USADA in the UFC?
