Joe Rogan urges UFC to cut ties with USADA and unban testosterone

Joe Rogan has been a major staple in the success of mixed martial arts over the years. He has helped the UFC grow from the ground up but the commentator isn’t a fan of everything the promotion does.

One major disagreement Rogan has with the UFC is the implementation of USADA. Since 2015, the United States Anti-Doping Agency has been partnered with the fight company. It is tasked with protecting athletes by removing banned substances from the octagon through its extensive research into sports science, though it has caused friction among the combat sports fanbase due to their divided opinions on the organization.

Surprisingly, the popular MMA figure wants the anti-doping agency away from the sport. He revealed this during a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, in which he stated that the UFC should instead do in-house testing for their employees.

“There’s a six-month period USADA has to test them [the fighters] randomly, which I think the USADA thing’s a mistake. I really think they should do all that in-house because USADA does stuff like, well they don’t do it anymore but they were doing stuff like waking guys up at 6:30 in the morning like the day of the weigh-ins and testing them. It was f***ing insane, f***ing insane. For world title fights. F***ing insane.”

Since being brought in by the UFC, USADA has helped catch countless fighters using banned supplements through their program, though sometimes their methods are unethical. 

Related: Joe Rogan says Conor McGregor’s ‘piss would melt that USADA cup,’ and McGregor responds

Joe Rogan is all for USADA unbanning testosterone to benefit the UFC fighters

Despite being against the involvement of the anti-doping agency, Joe Rogan believes they can improve their image and the fighters’ health by making some minor changes. Agreeing with his JRE guest Eddie Bravo, Rogan was vocal about the inclusion of testosterone and the advantages the athlete will gain from it.

“I do, too [think fighters should be able to take testosterone].” Stated Rogan. “With testosterone, you can take a guy who’s an older athlete who has an older mind, who thinks like a veteran, like, they really understand the game. Because a lot of those guys, by the time they get to that certain age, they think real well. They understand the game better, they’re more mature, but their body just doesn’t work the same anymore… A lot of people have it in their head that it’s cheating, right? They think about Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa and all that sh*t and getting busted, and they think it’s got a negative connotation in a lot of people’s minds that testosterone replacement is, ‘Oh, you’re doing steroids. You’re cheating.’ But if you’re intelligent about it and if you do it with a good doctor and you get your blood work done and you don’t abuse it, it’s very good for you.”

The life-long martial arts fan is passionate about aging fighters being able to take testosterone, though he insisted it would need to be within a guideline.

“It would be good with fighters if the UFC administered it. You can’t administer it on your own. They have to randomly test you to make sure you’re not f***ing off and doing something crazy. But this is the amount you get. Let’s make sure that your blood work stays within this very normal… So you’re not cheating, you’re just maintaining.”