The amount of cheating in pro sports is enough license to speculate on every athlete without apology IMO. The morality of the whole thing holds different value to different people, but if you look into doping and anti doping the general consensus is it is more the rule to be doping than the exception.

Joe rogan just linked that they caught people using freaking electric motors on their bicycles in France using infrared cameras. The extent that elite athletes go to to win is so out of the control group that looking at it through the lens of what a normal person would do to win is just not correct. They have in most cases dedicated their entire life and nearly every aspect to it. Add the money and the fact that the science of doping is well in front of the science of testing and it is not rational to think it will stop. Most get caught because of getting rolled on, not from testing bad, and most often when they do test bad it is because they ****ed up or got something they didn't know about.

I think they all do it by default and I don't really care.

well what's really doubtful is that Conor refused the press tour

he literally lives for that stuff

I'd accept $ as the logical answer but the timing of it all and behavior of the parties involved makes that far less than likely imo

normally yeah

kinda buying this stuff about him being SHOOK about his buddy killing a guy, and as a result he doesn't feel like doing his usual clowning around on a press tour

Not looking for pics of needles in bum, just something else other than speculation from 2+2 posters like one of his team mates being caught or maybe Mc missing test or some ****. Seriously wtf do you have other than wild speculation?

Head fully out of the sand and mind not away with the fairies.

Can accept this explanation easily. If you don't trust any athletes then fair enough.

Other random speculation saying 'must be drugs just because look at him and his flashy ****' is just that, random speculation without foundation.

I'm willing to give him benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.

When Max Baer killed Frankie Campbell in the ring, he sobbed inconsolably. He went as far as to give Campbell's family the purses from many of his future fights to support them. He was so grief-stricken that he lost 4 of his next 6 fights. As a matter of fact, he was charged with manslaughter due to the incident. His son reported Baer have nightmares about Campbell's death for years.

CM might be tough but even the strongest can be shaken by the realities of fighting for a living. Knowing that you have the ability to do that to another human can psychologically cause somebody to hold back when fighting and you don't fight your best you fight scared.

Baer got over Campbell's death eventually and if his teammate killing another fighter is really why he pulled out of UFC 200, he'll get over it too.

Conor didn't kill the guy, also dude died days later and it was a very normal looking fight. Not like he watched someone's neck get snapped.

Also if it was his teammate I'd think it'd have more validity to it as a plausible explanation. I understand how people are trying to craft a narrative but I don't buy that one. His farewell tweet would've been something different if it was him being shook by the nature of fighting.

marty,

Johnny's view on the matter is mine. 80-95% of the high end guys, and even most others, are users. It's business. Human nature tells me guys are going to do what they have to do to get ahead, or more apt, to keep up with their contemporaries who are.

I believe Bisping isn't, prbly Tim Kennedy too. If both of them got popped tomorrow I wouldn't bat an eye.

And I'm glad you've expanded a bit further than 'must be drugs just because'.

giving people the benefit of the doubt just sets you up to be disappointed/surprised when you know logically that the bulk of them are doing it (pardon the pun)

similarly when I find out someone's been cheating on their wife I just shrug, like Chris Rock says "a man is only as faithful as his options"

Does everyone cheat on their wife at the rich and famous level? no

Do I realize that most of them do? yes

So you can give Bisping and Kennedy the benefit of the doubt as you've stated but there is a problem with me doing likewise?

And no I wouldn't bat an eye if Mc was actually taking PEDS because like you I believe it's rampant at high end sport but I'd like just a bit more than Internet innuendo before getting my pitchfork.

--

Best I can tell is Mc had 10 clean USADA tests over the Aldo fight. Aldo had tests 3x.

This irrelevant?

+1 although u should look at Tim Kennedy when he fought at 205... Bisping even said in an interview that he didn't abuse steroids... which could mean that he never took them or that he never "abused" them. He was talking about Vitor Belfort in that spot.

If it was about a buddy of his killing someone I think he'd just state that's the case... although the blame in that death lies with the ref not the fighter. Also the blame can be spread to the organization if they don't screen fighters prior to fighting for pre existing conditions.

Roids/PED's are very possible as CM is trying to fight much heavier then his normal body type would deem optimal.

If it's money... which also makes sense then I applaud the UFC for dropping him from the card. If you give in to blackmail (which would the case as the contract was already signed) then the UFC is opening its doors for getting squeezed by fighters every time a fighter feels he has leverage on the UFC. Oftentimes this is due to someone pulling out (a Main Event PPV) last minute and the uninjured guy could demand a fortune to fight a walk in replacement.

Victor Conte did a great interview on The Joe Rogan Experience where he talked about how easy it is to beat the current system for testing PEDs.



Go to 43:50.

As for Vegas, Conte claims it's a matter of "IQ testing" more than steroid testing.

Bisping and Kennedy have been the loudest decrying roids

Like it's their life mission basically

And I still don't really give them credit for much, esp Kennedy

I will say that I don't put a heck of a lot of stock in the eyeball test for steroids. I have a desk job, am in my 40s and work out 4 time a week with weights and it is very possible to look muscular and lean even with those limitations. For a pro athlete it is silly to me when people point to body composition as proof. I don't put the way he looks as a reason as much as the pretty inexplicable series of events over the last few days fitting that speculative narrative along with the fact that I would be more surprised by people not using than using.

he probably roids because they all probably roid

they're the top level professional fighters, you'd be an idiot not to roid your ass off
(and not make it there unless you did)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MIl5RxhLZ5U

The fact that the fight was already booked is what leads me to believe that it's not likely this, the timing of it all.

He could just be going against all protocol but that would seem foolhardy.

what's going on here?

you think you're showing me what's up that Bisping and Kennedy are roiders?

lamest role reversal ever

Lance was trying to manage the narrative w/ Nike's advertising behemoth behind him. Everyone was saying it about him already.

Something analogous would be like you showing me a commercial of the #23rd ranked cyclist in the world decrying roids. I'm the guy who says they're all on it here, not you. Stop trying to manage the narrative like Lance.

Would anyone be shocked if he still main events UFC200?

Maybe it is as simple as McGregor asking for alot of money and UFC refused so he said he was retiring. Then UFC called his bluff and pulled him from the card. If thats the case there is still some time to come to terms.

Showing that sometimes those that shout the loudest have a bit more to hide than they let on. But you knew that.

And you haven't told me why I can't give Mc the benefit of the doubt while you comfortably can for Bisping and Kennedy.

And lol at me managing anything, I'm just bashing buttons.

you can feel free to give him the benefit of the doubt bruh

Thanks for this. Shows how pointless testing is.

In English football a player got a 8 month ban for missing 1 test, they just assume you're guilty of something. Not a bad thing as I doubt many footballers miss scheduled tests now (and he was a UTD player)

Dana said he's still open to it as long as he shoots the commercials.

Update. Rescinded.

http://entimports.com/2016/04/dana-m...fficially-off/

The roids thing is only a factor if the vegas stuff was a surprise. I'm assuming dana gave the fighterz plenty of notice about the vegas stuff. So why would connor use right before he had to be in vegas? Makes no sense.

It's a mlney issue or something else

Thanks for posting that JRE video with Victor. Really interesting hearing somebody who is actually involved with top athletes talking about what they do/take to train.