Anti-Doping
Dricus Du Plessis Presented Custom Jacket For 50x Clean Test History
At UFC 297: Strickland vs Du Plessis Media Day, Middleweight Dricus Du Plessis Received A Custom Jacket For Testing Clean Anti-Doping Tests
On Wednesday, January 17, UFC middleweight contender Dricus Du Plessis was awarded a custom jacket by Jeff Novitzky, Senior Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance, for testing clean 50 times.
At the start of 2024, UFC began its new program for testing athletes, which UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell called the “most aggressive anti-doping program in all of professional sports.”
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Often, news surrounding anti-doping and athletes is negative, so VP of Athlete Health and Perforance Donna Marcolini, came up with the concept of recognizing athletes for their dedication to keeping the sport clean.
The timing for Du Plessis getting his jacket is no accident. Even though Du Plessis has only been in the UFC since October of 2020, he’s been one of the sports most tested athletes. It was only fitting for him to be recognized just days away from his first UFC title shot at UFC 297 in Toronto.
“We do this for a purpose. We want to do this while the spotlight is on an athlete. It adds to the story of who Dricus is,” Novitzky said. “This strengthens the integrity and the credibility of Dricus, to have so many tests this early in his UFC career.”
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After receiving the jacket, “Stillnocks” flashed his muscles and let everyone know that he’s all-natural.
“It’s amazing getting this jacket,” Du Plessis said. “Getting this jacket, people are going to say what they are going to say, and having a physique like mine people are going to think I’m on the juice.
“If you’re going to do it, you’re going to get caught, and from my experience, it’s been nothing but professional from the UFC,” he continued. “I take comfort that I’m getting tested. I take comfort knowing my competition is getting treated the same way.”
Du Plessis will face UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 297, which takes place live on PPV, January 20, at 10pm ET/ 7pm PT.
Dricus Du Plessis Fight Week Interview | UFC 297
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Dricus Du Plessis Fight Week Interview | UFC 297
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Here’s the full overview of the new UFC Anti-Doping Policy:
- Sample Collection Conducted by Drug Free Sport International
Beginning on December 31, UFC athletes will be subject to no-notice sample collections by UFC’s new biological sample collection and shipping agency, Drug Free Sport International (DFSI), or one of its contracted affiliates. DFSI a global leader in the anti-doping industry and currently collects biological samples for professional and amateur athletic organizations, including Major League Baseball, the National Football League, FIFA, PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, NCAA, NASCAR, and others. DFSI has more than 5,000 collection personnel worldwide, who will provide UFC with greater global coverage than it had under the prior program. The unannounced sample collections will take place 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. DFSI will only be the sample collector under the new program and will not have any authority to adjudicate violations.
- Sample Analysis Performed by Sports Medicine and Research Testing Laboratory
Athlete samples will be analyzed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited Sports Medicine and Research Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) in Salt Lake, City, Utah. SMRTL, considered by many in the industry to be the top anti-doping testing laboratory in the world, has had extensive experience analyzing UFC samples under the prior iteration of the anti-doping program. Dr. Daniel Eichner, the president and laboratory director at SMRTL, will act as the new program’s Science Advisor. Dr. Eichner is widely recognized as one of the top anti-doping scientists in the world and will be instrumentally involved in test planning strategy, analyzing, and interpreting athletes’ sample results. Under Dr. Eichner’s supervision, SMRTL will also conduct the highest percentage of “special analysis” testing in a professional sport year-round program, screening for prohibited substances like EPO, testosterone, and human growth hormone.
- Administration and Sanctioning Overseen Independently by CSAD/George Piro
The administration of the UFC Anti-Doping Program, including sanctioning decisions, will be handled exclusively and independently by Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), and its president, George Piro, a senior executive with more than 30 years of distinguished service in federal and local law enforcement, including over 20 years with the Federal Bureau of investigation (FBI). During his remarkable FBI career, Piro held such notable roles as Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Field Office; Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office’s Counterterrorism Branch; and Supervisory Special Agent/Team Leader of the Saddam Hussein Interrogation Team in
Baghdad. Piro is also a No-Gi, Jui-Jitsu Masters World Champion and is intimately familiar with the sport of MMA.
CSAD will continue the independent spirit of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, where no results management or sanctioning decisions will be made by UFC. With the technical assistance of the program’s science advisor, Dr. Daniel Eichner, CSAD will maintain all decision-making authority under the program, including adjudicating program violations, such as suspensions and whereabouts failures. Additionally, CSAD will maintain a “tip-line” where any information concerning the use/abuse of performance enhancing drugs within UFC can be reported to tipline@csad.org .
- Comprehensive List of Prohibited Substances
The “Prohibited List,” detailing which substances are allowed and which substances are not, will generally remain the same as the prior program. The criteria for prohibited substances will be modeled after WADA’s In and Out of Competition programs with modifications based on historical findings (i.e. marijuana removed from the prohibited list). In addition, Decision Concentration Limits (thresholds) will be established that allow the program to differentiate between intentional use cases of prohibited substances and cases stemming from unintentional exposure to low level contaminants.
- New User-Friendly Digital Whereabouts Platform
UFC athletes will have access to the new UFC Whereabouts Platform to record their expected locations so that they can easily be contacted for testing. The new platform is more user friendly than the previous system and allows an athlete to quickly and easily update their Whereabouts Filing as their location changes due to circumstances over time.
The full details of the new UFC Anti-Doping Policy, as well as additional information such as the UFC Whereabouts Policy and the Prohibited Substances List can be found at the new UFC Anti-Doping Program online portal. The site contains policy information in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, and Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
UFC 297: Strickland vs Du Plessis took place live from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on January 20, 2024. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
