Despite his sweet gig as a UFC announcer for Fox Sports 1, former WEC champ Brian Stann isn't shy about speaking up. Stann recently revealed that the lack of stringent drug testing was a big part of his decision to retire after a KO loss to Wanderlei SIlva.
Yesterday Stann was a guest on Ariel Helwani's MMA Hour and he elaborated on those concerns, saying "Currently, what athletic commissions are doing testing the day of the fight is not enough. That's almost an IQ test."
He also expressed frustration at the cost of more comprehensive drug testing. Stann sat down with USADA‘s CEO Travis T. Tygart and the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) chairman Francisco Aguilar in Las Vegas and was shocked at the amount of money it takes for a random drug test per fight ($35,000-$45,000). That puts it out of the price range the NSAC can afford to pay without help from the UFC.
As for those who have insinuated that Stann was trying to hint that Wanderlei Silva was abusing PEDs when the two fought, Stann responded (transcribed by MMA Mania):
"I think the time when you retire coming off a loss and then you say that, what I didn't want to do was discredit any of my former opponents. You know, specifically seeing that Wanderlei (Silva) was my last fight, I didn't want to come off like, ‘Hey, I'm making excuses. The only people that beat me were people on drugs.' I don't know any of that for a certainty. There's one time when I fought a guy on TRT when it was allowed, and that's the only time that I could say substantially somebody was taking something. But, it was a factor. I'm a clean fighter. I'm 33 years old, and I have seen, in my own training, and in talking and knowing guys in the inner circle, I've known what guys are not on, and when they cycle on it. You can feel the difference in the gym and what big a difference it makes, and I do think there are a number of guys who are using just because the testing currently by our athletic commissions is inadequate."