Sherdog’s Top 10: PED Busts

Josh Barnett squandered the sport’s biggest prize: the UFC heavyweight crown. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

1. Josh Barnett
UFC 36 “Worlds Collide”
At last we reach the granddaddy of them all, the second of Barnett’s three failed drug tests but by far the most meaningful of his career. Why is this one the most important? Because, simply put, it inaugurated the present era of drug-testing regimens under the auspices of state athletic commissions and, more importantly, the enforcement of those regulations with actual, substantial penalties for the rule-breakers.

UFC 36 was the promotion’s third event in Nevada in a seven-month span and an important milestone that helped to establish Las Vegas as its future long-term home. The pay-per-view business was once again rolling, and stars -- Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes and Randy Couture -- had begun to emerge from the backwater casino morass of MMA’s dark ages. Hughes dominated Hayato “Mach” Sakurai at UFC 36 to retain his welterweight title; Pedro Rizzo knocked out future champion Andrei Arlovski; and the main event featured heavyweight champion Couture defending his belt against 24-year-old upstart Barnett. The already-venerable Couture was a small favorite (-165) against his youthful opponent, but the fight’s outcome left no doubt, as Barnett pounded him from top position until referee John McCarthy stopped the fight.

Keen observers will note that Barnett’s post-fight test failure -- he actually popped for three banned substances: nandrolone, boldenone and fluoxymesterone -- after dismantling Couture was actually his second. The NAC instituted drug testing shortly before UFC 36, and Barnett’s sample had come back positive at his previous fight in Las Vegas at UFC 34, but he only received a warning with the understanding that there would be consequences in the future.

There were indeed repercussions. Barnett was stripped of the title, but officially the outcome of the bout remained a win on his record, which led directly to the NAC changing its procedures to allow for no-contests. More than that, however, the result also showed that mixed martial artists were in fact abusing performance-enhancers, and that Barnett was only the tip of an iceberg, the true dimensions of which would be revealed in the years to come. As for Barnett himself, he would not fight in the United States for more than four years, and his positive test in Las Vegas led directly to the additional random test that helped to strangle the nascent Affliction promotion in its crib. In sum, it is impossible to overstate the long-term impact of Barnett’s UFC 36 test failure.

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS: Tim Sylvia (UFC 44), Bas Rutten (WFA 4)