1. Drug Test Failures, UFC 175, And The Retirement Of Chael Sonnen And Wanderlei Silva
Without question the biggest story in the world of MMA in 2014 was drugs. Drugs, drugs, performance enhancing drugs, and drug failures. More than ever before, fighters are getting caught cheating, in some cases for the second or third time. We're looking at you, Vitor Belfort. The peak of this disgrace was UFC 175, what was to be a huge event for the promotion, with two title fights on the card. Instead, it was overshadowed by the implosion of a fight between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva, who coached opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3. With a ton of bad blood between them (that had already sparked an on-set brawl), their match was set for earlier in the summer then moved to July at UFC 175 as Silva was healing from injury. Then Silva ran out on a drug test by the NSAC - literally. When the NSAC tester showed up at his gym, he dashed out the side door, later blaming a language barrier before admitting he was using a banned substance. He was replaced in the fight by Vitor Belfort. Just as it seemed like Sonnen would get the last laugh with his rival humiliated, lightening struck twice, sort of. Sonnen didn't dodge a drug test, he failed one. Badly. Then failed a second, not that it mattered. Sonnen was given a two-year ban from the sport, and retired. He would lose his job with the UFC and Fox, though like always, Sonnen landed on his feet, appearing at the grappling event Metamoris and being picked up by ESPN. Meanwhile, Wanderlei Silva didn't fare so well. He was given a lifetime ban for his antics, and has been relegated to posting angry videos on Youtube. And Vitor Belfort? Well, he failed a drug test in February, but for some reason the same athletic commission that banned Sonnen for two years and Silva for life saw fit to pave the way for Belfort to get a title shot against Weidman. Go figure. In the end, the black eye that resulted from the whole fiasco has led to multiple changes in how MMA fighters are testing for performance enhancing drugs - but the sport still has a long way to go.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
