USADA piloting new oral fluid testing program for UFC athletes

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is piloting a new oral fluid testing program in the hopes of improving the UFC’s anti-doping efforts.

Oral fluid testing was implemented on Dec. 11, 2019 in effort to only detect use of in-competition prohibited substances within hours of use, according to UFC senior vice president of health and performance Jeff Novitzky.

In a follow-up to his original tweet, Novitzky indicated the pilot, if fully implemented in the future, could potentially allow cannabis to be removed from the in-competition prohibited substance list.

On Dec. 12, USADA issued this statement on their official website:

“Dedicated to innovation in anti-doping, USADA is introducing oral fluid testing, a pain-free, non-invasive collection experience that is being piloted both in and out-of-competition in the UFC Anti-Doping Program. This testing method is safe, reliable, and can be administered anywhere.

Collecting samples through the pilot program is critical to validating the sample collection process and analytical methods, as well as securing athlete feedback. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratories and other global anti-doping partners will also play an integral role in evaluating and adopting these revolutionary new technologies for programs and athletes worldwide.

Starting on December 11, 2019, all UFC athletes, regardless of location, are subject to oral fluid testing.

With the statement, USADA released a list of FAQ’s, which explained explained oral fluid testing, the benefits/detriments, and how it differs from other testing methods.

To summarize: oral fluid testing is the collection of saliva. USADA personnel will collect a ~ 1mL sample with an oral fluid collection device over the span of 3.5 minutes. Fighters are not allowed to eat or drink in the 10 minutes leading up to collection. When a sufficient amount fluid has been collected, an indicator on the tube will change color.

From there, anonymous samples will be analyzed at an “independent WADA-accredited laboratory.” Only A-samples will be collected during the pilot – no B samples.

To gauge the effectiveness of the program, other sample collection methods will be run simultaneously alongside oral fluid testing (urine, blood, etc.). Fluid samples will not be reported during the pilot.

While USADA says there are no known negative side effects of oral fluid testing, it alleges three main benefits of the collection method:

1) “A pain-free and non-invasive collection experience for athletes.”

2) “Eliminates the need for gender-specific collection personnel.”

3) “Samples can be easily and quickly collected in a wide range of environments.”

No timeline was given for how long the pilot will be run for.