MMA
Free at last! Procházka spoke about the doping tests in which he holds the record
It was recently announced that the UFC and USADA brand collaboration will be a thing of the past starting in 2024. Anti-doping controls will be taken over by a new agency and Jiri Prochazka hopes to have a little more peace of mind. It was USADA that was really bothering him.
It was recently announced that the UFC and USADA brand collaboration will be a thing of the past starting in 2024. Anti-doping controls will be taken over by a new agency and Jiri Prochazka hopes to have a little more peace of mind. It was USADA that was really bothering him.
The UFC had the edge against all other MMA organizations in the anti-doping program, in addition to quality. The USADA was the agency that sponsored the tests. But the cooperation with them will be a thing of the past from the beginning of the new year.
There were several controversial moments in the long-term cooperation. However, the last drop in the cup of the UFC’s patience was apparently the fact that Conor McGregor did not receive an exemption and could not fight until after a six-month period in the anti-doping program.
However, there was a lot of talk about another thing in 2022. USADA members had clearly fallen in love with Moravia and Jiri Prochazka was their favourite subject. Over the course of the year, the Moravian samurai underwent 64 doping tests.
He was thus sovereignly the most tested athlete by the agency. The second highest number of tests was cyclist Lauren DeCrescenzo, who was tested 32 times by USADA.
This year, she’s having a much quieter year. Since the beginning of January, Prochazka has undergone only 9 tests. However, in an interview with The MMA Hour, he revealed that the number of tests from last year has affected him greatly.
Procházka spoke out about the doping tests
Coming up this weekend, Jiri Procházka will appear in the main event of UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden. While he has been relatively quiet since the tests this year, he admitted that he still lives in a sort of fear.
“I was always tested by the same people in the Czech Republic. I know them. One man, one woman. They were nice, but sometimes it was so that I woke up and sighed, saying that today they will come again. I had to be ready for it all the time,” said the Moravian samurai.
“I didn’t sleep well. The whole thing was not good. A few takes a week… Here in the USA they take only a drop of blood from my thumb, in the Czech Republic they took a lot of blood. Almost like they needed a whole bottle. Now I’m finally free. Two more months and then there will be a new agency,” Procházka said.
Source: The MMA Hour, UFC, MMA Mania