Nate Marquardt explains holes in current procedures for drug testing in MMA

Following his headlining win over James Te Huna at UFC Fight Night: Auckland, Nate Marquardt was asked about hot button topics now including the TRT ban and the current state of PED testing. While some may argue he isn't the perfect man to address the topic because of his past troubles with the commission, Marquardt did bring up some very valid points about how the current procedures isn't as air tight as can be.

"I think (the TRT ban is) great because it’s just got to be fair, and that’s probably the best way to do it, because guys are going to bend the rules," Marquardt told MMAKanvas, "I think now what really needs to be focused on is the testing"

"Even at the fights, there’s things that (can) slip in, like when I took my urine test (post fight), the guy was in the room with me but he didn’t make me take my pants off. I’ve talked to guys from the Olympic Training Center and when they take a urine test, you have to take your pants all the way off and that ensures that you’re not hiding anything and the guy has to watch you"

"And not only that, they follow you around and make sure you aren’t doing anything, like putting something in your bladder or whatever, and then, like I said, they make you drop your drawers all the way down – that’s not being done yet. I think that really needs to be done, otherwise people will find ways to get around it."

As for other suggestions to improve the procedure, Marquardt said the recent random drug testing is a good step forward.

"You can see that there are ways to catch guys. When you show up at their gym or doorstep unannounced, that’s how you’re going to catch somebody," he said, "I think the tighter the testing gets, it's going to be better for everyone."

With Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen both getting in trouble for these types of random drug tests, especially with the latter popping for PEDs that are said to be basically 'undetectable', hopefully this means that the policies are on its way to being more detailed and stringent.

Either way, as Marquardt said, have people drop their pants next time too.