Search for UFC drug testing and you will find hundreds of articles explaining how USADA runs the programme. Every one of them is out of date.
USADA has not tested a UFC fighter since 2023. The programme that replaced it is structured very differently — and if you want to understand why a fighter got a one-year ban rather than a two-year ban, or why a commission overturned a result the UFC’s own testers had nothing to do with, you need to know who does what.
Who Drug Tests UFC Fighters In 2026?
UFC fighters are drug tested by Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), which has administered the UFC Anti-Doping Policy independently since 2024. Samples are collected worldwide by Drug Free Sport International (DFSI) and analysed at the WADA-accredited SMRTL laboratory in Salt Lake City. On top of that, state athletic commissions run their own separate testing on fight night.
The one name that is no longer involved is USADA. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency ran the programme from 2015, but that partnership ended on 31 December 2023, and USADA has tested no UFC fighter since.
The detail most fans miss is that there are really two testing systems running at once. CSAD administers the UFC’s own year-round programme; the athletic commission in the state where a fight happens tests separately — and, crucially, the commission is the only one that can change the official result of a bout.
Which Organisations Run UFC Drug Testing?
Four organisations run UFC drug testing: CSAD administers the programme, Drug Free Sport International collects the samples, the SMRTL laboratory analyses them, and state athletic commissions test separately on fight night. Each has a distinct and separate role.
| Organisation | Role |
|---|---|
| CSAD (Combat Sports Anti-Doping) | The independent administrator. Plans testing, manages results, grants therapeutic use exemptions, and issues sanctions. Led by president George Piro |
| DFSI (Drug Free Sport International) | Collects the samples. Maintains a network of more than 5,000 trained collectors worldwide |
| SMRTL (Salt Lake City) | The WADA-accredited laboratory that analyses the samples and maintains the athlete biological passport programme |
| State athletic commissions | Run their own independent fight-night testing. Can fine, suspend, and overturn the result of the fight |
The UFC states that no UFC employee makes testing or sanctioning decisions under the programme.
Who Is George Piro, the Head of UFC Drug Testing?
George Piro is the president of Combat Sports Anti-Doping, the body that administers UFC drug testing — and he is not a career anti-doping administrator. He spent more than 30 years in law enforcement, including over 20 with the FBI, where he was Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Field Office and led the team that interrogated Saddam Hussein.
He is also a masters world champion in no-gi jiu-jitsu, which makes him an unusually well-briefed person to be running a combat sports drug programme. The programme’s science advisor is Dr Daniel Eichner, who also directs the SMRTL laboratory.
Why Did the UFC and USADA Split?
The UFC and USADA split at the end of 2023, after USADA had run the promotion’s anti-doping programme since 2015. The split was announced in October 2023 and took effect on 31 December that year, with the UFC replacing a household-name testing agency with a purpose-built one.
The two organisations gave differing public accounts of why the relationship ended, and the fallout was messy. What is not in dispute is the date, or the fact that a new body — CSAD — took over from the start of 2024.
That change of branding is exactly why the confusion persists. Fans still say ‘USADA’ the way they say ‘Hoover’ — as a generic term for drug testing. It has not been accurate for over two years.
How Does UFC Drug Testing Actually Work?
UFC drug testing is year-round, unannounced, and global. Every fighter on the roster is subject to no-notice testing anywhere in the world, must file whereabouts information so collectors can find them, and is held to strict liability for anything found in their sample.
The core features of the programme are worth knowing individually:
| Feature | What it means |
|---|---|
| Year-round, unannounced | Every roster fighter can be tested 24/7, anywhere in the world, with no notice |
| Whereabouts | Fighters in the pool must file location information; repeated failures become a violation in their own right |
| The Prohibited List | Modelled on WADA’s in- and out-of-competition lists, adjusted for what has historically appeared in combat sports |
| Therapeutic use exemptions | A banned medication for a genuine medical need must be approved in advance — a prescription alone is not a defence |
| Strict liability | If it is in your body, it is your responsibility — which is why contaminated supplements cause so many cases |
| Public tip line | Suspected doping can be reported to CSAD directly |
One quirk: the programme now counts test sessions rather than individual samples, which is why some fighters’ public testing totals appear lower than in the USADA era even though they are not tested less.
Can a State Athletic Commission Overturn a UFC Drug Test Result?
Yes — a state athletic commission can overturn a UFC drug test result, and CSAD cannot. The two are separate systems: CSAD can suspend a fighter from UFC competition, but only the commission that sanctioned the fight has the power to change the official result of that bout.
A 2026 case shows exactly how this works. CSAD announced in March 2026 that Alibi Idiris had accepted a 12-month period of ineligibility after testing positive for hydrochlorothiazide — a diuretic and masking agent — from a sample collected around a February 2026 event in Houston.
Idiris had won that fight, but CSAD could not touch the result. Because the bout was regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Texas retained jurisdiction, ran its own process, and was responsible for amending the outcome. So when you see a fighter suspended but the win still standing on their record, this is usually why: two bodies, two processes, two different powers.
Does the UFC Decide the Punishments for Failed Drug Tests?
No — the UFC does not decide the punishments for failed drug tests. Sanctioning authority sits with CSAD, and the UFC states that no company employee has decision-making power over results management, test planning, or exemptions.
This independence is the entire design of the post-2023 programme. Whether it works as cleanly in practice as it does on paper is something fans and analysts still debate, but the stated structure places every testing and sanctioning decision outside the promotion itself.
What Happens When a UFC Fighter Fails a Drug Test?
When a UFC fighter fails a drug test, they are notified, provisionally suspended, and given the right to have the B sample analysed before a formal process begins. The length of any sanction depends on the substance, whether there is evidence of contamination, and how much the fighter cooperates.
A positive A sample is not the end of the process. The fighter can request analysis of the B sample to confirm the result, and evidence that a positive came from a contaminated supplement rather than deliberate use can significantly reduce a ban — which is why so many cases turn on where a substance came from rather than whether it was present.
Is the New UFC Anti-Doping Programme Softer Than USADA’s?
The new UFC anti-doping programme is different rather than obviously softer, and it is genuinely hard to compare the two cleanly. The testing is still year-round, unannounced, and global, and the samples are still analysed at a WADA-accredited laboratory.
Some observers point to shorter sanctions in certain cases as evidence of a softer approach; others argue the science and the testing volume are comparable, and that the change in how tests are counted makes direct comparison misleading. The honest position is that there is no clean, agreed answer — only that the framework remains a serious one on paper.
FAQs
Does USADA still test UFC fighters?
No. USADA’s involvement ended on 31 December 2023. UFC fighters are now tested under a programme administered by CSAD.
Who runs UFC drug testing now?
UFC drug testing is run by Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), with sample collection by Drug Free Sport International and analysis by the SMRTL laboratory in Salt Lake City.
Is CSAD independent from the UFC?
Yes — that is how CSAD is structured. It holds decision-making authority over test planning, exemptions, and sanctions, and the UFC says none of its employees make those calls.
Can a state athletic commission still suspend a UFC fighter?
Yes — and it can also overturn the result of the fight, which CSAD cannot do. The two systems run in parallel.
What is the most common reason UFC fighters fail drug tests?
Contaminated or mislabelled supplements are the most common reason. Strict liability means the fighter carries the consequences regardless of intent.
To Conclude
UFC fighters are drug tested by CSAD, with samples collected by DFSI and analysed at SMRTL — not by USADA, which left at the end of 2023. That programme runs entirely separately from the state athletic commissions, who do their own fight-night testing and are the only bodies able to overturn a result.
The single fact to take away is that USADA is gone. If an article still tells you USADA tests UFC fighters, it has not been updated since 2023 — and you should be sceptical of whatever else it claims.
For more, read our guides to whether UFC fighters are on steroids, what steroids UFC fighters take, and how UFC fighters get away with steroids. You can also see our list of banned UFC fighters and find out whether UFC fighters can take creatine.
