The UFC͏ and USADA severed ties ͏at t͏he start of the year, and it seems to have been one of the͏ promotion’s best decisions in recent ti͏mes. Recent͏ accu͏sati͏ons a͏gainst th͏e drug͏-t͏e͏sting͏ a͏gency have sparked rumors that left even Joe Rogan perplexed. What are these ru͏mors, you ask? Stay tuned͏, as we’re ba͏ck w͏ith an͏other episod͏e of MMA Ro͏undup.

Furthermore, we have an update from Craig Jones, who appears to be advising BJJ stars to not sign with UFC as his CJI 2 is coming up. Finally, we will end our Roundup with a piece of injury news about a UFC 310 fighter, who shared an update on X (formerly Twitter). So, without further ado͏, let’s get st͏a͏rted!

Joe Rogan stunned by accusations of USADA covering up test results

While having a conversation with Derek Munro of ‘More Plates More Dates’, on ‘JRE#2239,’ Joe Rogan was bombarded by a series of revelations by the fitness influencer which shocked the multi-millionaire podcaster. During a conversation about fitness and the Olympics, Munro revealed that the drug testing agency USADA deliberately covered up some of the athletes’ positive test results. The news completely took the color commentator aback as Munro asserted that the official WADA website is where he got his information from.

“[All the information is there] on the official WADA site. And they were basically exposing how USADA was covering up the [positive] test results for [a few]… unnamed… ‘Olympic-level’ and elite athletes…[Also] they got to go until retirement without getting exposed just because they helped USADA supposedly catch other people,” Derek Munro revealed. This revelation left Joe Rogan bewildered as he made an uncanny comparison about the national anti-doping agency.

“Oh, my God! So they are like a dr*g dealer that works for the government.”, replied Rogan in response. USADA has a clientele base of track & field, cycling, swimming, and soccer, among many other sports, and it’s no surprise that Rogan was taken aback by the accusations. Speaking of doping in sports, let’s shift our focus to one that doesn’t actively test high-level athletes, i.e., BJJ. Next, we have Craig Jones, who wants heavyweight BJJ athletes not to sign an extended contract with the UFC.

Craig Jones wants the BJJ stars to not sign with the UFC

ONE Championship seems to be losing its best talents and guess who is grabbing them? It’s none other than the UFC. One of the biggest stars from the Asian MMA promotion, Mikey Musumeci recently signed with the UFC and recently debuted at the 9th edition of the promotion’s submission-grappling banner Fight Pass Invitational. It must be noted that ‘Darth Rigatoni’ was not only one of the biggest stars in ONE Championship but is also a prominent name in the world of BJJ. Now, as the UFC has been clinching the talent pool, Craig Jones has come forward to have a message for all of the BJJ hotshots.

“This weekend is your reminder not to sign any exclusive contracts,” wrote Craig Jones as he slept on a huge wad of cash. Furthermore, the BJJ star announced his second promotional event, “I’m here for a massive announcement. This announcement comes at a very important time, given the boring a** grappling events that went on this weekend. But I have received funding for CJI 2. I can confirm August 2025 in Las Vegas [as the date for the event]”. As proof, Jones uploaded a photo of his account which had $17 million as a balance.

The high-level BJJ athlete, who is Alexander Volkanovski‘s grappling coach, and known for his hilarious antics, pulled off something similar in August this year, when he conducted the first edition of CJI (Craig Jones Invitational) around the same dates as the ADCC 2024, thereby siphoning a big chunk of viewers from that event to his. Furthermore, CJI was available for free to watch on YouTube, while accessing ADCC fights is behind a subscription paywall on FloGrappling’s website.

The inaugural CJI event witnessed Kade Ruotolo and Nick Rodriguez receive $1 million each after winning the 16-man tournaments at -80 kg and over 80 kg divisions, respectively. It also featured the first high-level intergender BJJ match between Jones himself and women’s heavyweight grappler Gabi Garcia. After looking at the world of BJJ, let’s shift our focus to the UFC and a particular injury that occurred during the recently concluded UFC 310

Cody Durden shares the brutal injury updates after UFC 310

Injur͏ies͏ are noth͏ing n͏ew in t͏he ͏world o͏f MMA,͏ but some a͏r͏e s͏o inten͏se that they leave you questioning why athletes put their bodies on the line, fighting in the Octagon. Cody Durd͏en recently shared details ab͏out͏ an injury he͏ sustained during his prelims fight against Joshua͏ Van at UFC 310. The 23-year-old promising flyweight from Myanmar completely dominated Durden inside the Octagon, thus clinching the victory by way of a unanimous decision. Cody Durd͏en lost the match, but in addition to that he sustained some physical repercussions as well.

Taking to his X handle, Durden answered to the MMA community as he uploaded a photo of his injured face, “Fight game is tough! Couldn’t see anything at some point in the 2nd round after a punch fractured my orbital! Just left the hospital, and I’ll be good soon! @JoshuaVanBT is the real deal. You won fairnsquare! Praying my vision comes back to normal soon! Love you all!”. Orbital injuries are some of the most drastic injuries in the realm of MMA specifically since they can severely impair a fighter’s vision.

Regardless, it’s going to be a short while before we see Cody Durden back in the Octagon. What do you think about Derek Munro’s USADA claims? Do you there is any brevity to what he said to Joe Rogan? What about Craig Jones’ takeover of BJJ? Do you think he can compete against the biggest fight promotion in the world? Do let us know in the comments section below.