Bocek ups the ante on PED's in MMA: 'It appears to me like UFC is kind of against drug testing'

It looks like Mark Bocek has had a lot he's wanted to get off his chest from his time in MMA. Most notably, he has been beating the drum of widespread steroid abuse in the sport, going so far as to say that fighters "deserve to lose if you're not PEDs." If that felt like a strong stance, it's certainly not one he's backing down from. In a recent interview with Sherdog, Bocek went a step further, to suggest that the UFC may be complicit in the problem of steroid abuse in MMA.

"[PEDs are] pretty rampant, but that goes along with any combat or athletic sport where there's any notoriety and especially financial gain involved. You can either turn a blind eye to it, which is much easier when you don't have to deal with it yourself, because you're not fighting, so it's easier to ignore those things," Bocek explained. "But, when you're actually in the mix of it, it's pretty difficult. Obviously, I'm not going to mention any names or anything without legitimate proof because that makes me look weak and bitter and sour, and looks like it's the only reason why I'm quitting. It's one of the reasons I am quitting, for sure, but it's not the only reason."
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"Random testing works. All the guys that have gotten random-tested failed. But they cost money, they are expensive. It appears to me like UFC is kind of against drug testing because if we use any of these VADA voluntary doping tests or clinics, these results come out before actual fights, so you don't get to cash in your pay-per-view money. If we stick with the laxed commission testing, all those results come out after the event, so just in my opinion, I don't really think they are for testing," Bocek said. "But yeah, it looks like most people are on drugs and the more successful you are, the more money you have. The more money you have, you get targeted by guys like Victor Conte or some chemist and they'll come up with a drug you can't test for or is undetectable because you have the money for those things."

Of course, recent random drug testing under the NSAC has broken up a few notable fights for the UFC recently. However, both Kevin Casey and Robert Drysdale were able to compete with banned substances in their bodies, only to be discovered post fight. Both men won by stoppage. It's hard to say that more isn't being done lately, but it doesn't undercut the legitimacy of Bocek's point, that in most cases, for most fights, fighters using banned substances won't be found out until after they compete, if at all.

Beyond the talk of PEDs in MMA, Bocek also talked about his decision to retire and his desire not to leave the sport on a string of bad losses. So, check out the whole thing here.