Rare UFC Moment as Team Khabib Joins Conor McGregor’s Hand in Dana White’s War Against USADA

USADA is all set to leave the UFC station by the end of the year and is parting ways with the promotion after a long 8 years of partnership. Now the responsibility to drug test the athletes lies on UFC’s new partner Drug Free Sport International. The journey of USADA and UFC added uncalled controversies in their path which ultimately led them to split.

Many prominent personalities hopped on the bandwagon to express their opinions on the USADA split. Conor McGregor and Dana White criticized USADA and claimed that this move would be beneficial for the promotion in the long run. Joining them, Team Khabib’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, also shared his take on the split.

Ali Abdelaziz expresses his opinion on the USADA split

UFC and USADA joined forces way back in 2015. The Anti-doping agency took the responsibility to administrate the tests that should be taken by the athletes before they enter the Octagon. Things were working well for both of the organizations till Conor McGregor announced his comeback to the UFC.

USADA CEO Travis Tygart in a statement gave his concerns regarding the comeback. Tygart added that McGregor reentered the testing pool. Nevertheless, he did cast a shadow of doubt upon whether the UFC would grant McGregor the liberty to submit to the complete six-month testing regimen or insist on the imperative necessity of two successive negative tests.

Following Tygart’s statement, several prominent individuals in the combat community have shared their opinions on the matter, including Ali Abdelaziz, the manager of Team Khabib. In a recent interview with ESPN, Abdelaziz was asked by Brett Okamoto about his opinion on the recent tussle that is happening between USADA and UFC. In a surprising move, Abdelaziz sided with Conor McGregor on his stance against USADA.

In the interview, Abdelaziz added “ I think USADA is okay with the sport, but I think the way we treated the fighters was not as a manager should. They treated them like they bullied them… Don’t go to people at 6:00 in the morning and wake them up. Don’t take blood from Islam right before his fight. Don’t do this kind of thing the day before weigh-in when he is drained. Don’t go to the guy’s room when he’s cutting weight. You, and this is everything USADA did. I felt like the guys’ application sucked. It never worked.”

Additionally, UFC CEO Dana White also went in on Tygart after his scathing press release following the announcement of the split.

Dana White expresses displeasure on USADA’s statement

Dana White upon hearing USADA’s statement expressed his displeasure. While having a conversation on the Pat McAfee Show, he termed USADA’s statement as a dirty move and added,  “There was no announcement that was straight up ‘sc*mbagism’ what happened yesterday.”

The CEO further added that many athletes have already expressed their displeasure with the way USADA conducts their testing. Dana White added that the promotion will be employing an independent company for further drug testing. White claimed that they are already searching for alternative solutions.

Read More: What Did USADA Do to UFC and Conor McGregor? Hunter Campbell, Dana White & Jeff Novitzy’s Decision Explained

With USADA leaving UFC’s side and DFSI stepping up to the responsibility, what do you think is forward for the UFC? Do tell us in the comments below

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