Derek Brunson is not pleased with USADA.
The No. 4 ranked UFC middleweight contender was hoping to close out his career after winning his way to a rematch and championship coronation against Israel Adesanya pre-UFC 271. Unfortunately for Brunson, Jared Cannonier had other plans as he viciously knocked out the surging Wilmington, North Carolina native in round two of their co-main event affair.
Since then, Brunson has been plotting his next move while being subjected to random tests by USADA. This isn’t anything out of the ordinary, as every fighter on the UFC roster has to do the same. However, Brunson has found the process to be a bit overbearing at this stage in his career.
“@usantidoping has to be the worst testing program out [there],” Brunson tweeted. “Imagine trying to handle business outside of the octagon and having to take quick flights to check on properties, having a family and other stuff going on, etc and them giving you failures because you forgot to update the glitchy app.
“There’s several athletes out here taking peds but no one failing. Get your GPS feature back. Giving someone a failed whereabouts isn’t the same as someone failing a PED test.”
Brunson typically isn’t one to keep quiet about his feelings on certain aspects of the fight game and has never had issues involved with banned substances. In recent years, test failures have become rarer as time passes on.
Despite being a mainstay on the UFC roster in 2022, Brunson wanted to make it a point that he’s still relatively busy outside his primary career, and sometimes other obligations are more important for his overall well-being.
At 38, the “Blonde Bomber” better be careful though otherwise, he may end up with a career-ending suspension.
“Just to be clear. Usada gave me a whereabouts infraction because I didn’t update my location,” Brunson said. “Stating I have 2 whereabout infractions and 1 more could result in a 2-year suspension. They use to have GPS tracking, maybe get back the system that worked for fighters!
I do [update my location], but with multiple businesses, it’s easy to forget a time or two. I’m not one of these fighters on social media complaining about being underpaid. I go out and make things happen. I’ve made more money outside the octagon! Respect my time and update your system is all I ask!”
Also chiming in on the matter was former UFC bantamweight, Cody Gibson, who Brunson agreed with.
“This is why some sort of fighter organization would be important,” Gibson quote tweeted. “Give fighters a seat at the table when it comes to negotiating the terms of this employment. These aren’t independent contractors.”
