Tag: Hunter Campbell

Video: Jon Jones learns of injury recovery timeline from Dana White, Hunter Campbell in new UFC docuseries

UFC’s new Roku series has unseen footage, including Dana White and Hunter Campbell telling Jon Jones his injury could keep him out 12 months.

UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] has always said that every time he steps out of bed in the morning, there’s something crazy and unexpected he’s forced to deal with behind the scenes.

The company has a history of keeping much of that in private and from the public eye. It has been the case for the majority of UFC’s existence, but as time goes and access becomes more valuable, there’s been additional nuggets of footage that have been shared for the world to see.

That’s perhaps never been more true than in the UFC’s new docuseries “Fight Inc: Inside the UFC,” which debuted June 7 on The Roku Channel, and it primarily follows many of the backstage happenings throughout the second half of 2023.

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One of the major issues the UFC encountered late in the year came when UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] was forced to withdraw from the UFC 295 main event against Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden in New York on just 12 days’ notice.

Jones suffered a complete pectoral tear during a training session, and was ruled out from competing against Miocic on the Nov. 11 card. The UFC was forced to scramble in the aftermath of the change, and as a result booked an interim heavyweight title fight on the card with Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich.

Cameras for “Fight Inc: Inside the UFC” were following White and UFC CBO [autotag]Hunter Campbell[/autotag] when they met with Jones in the aftermath of his withdrawal and has the results of his MRI with the details.

Jones was seemingly unaware about the severity of his injury when he met with White and Campbell, and cameras caught his real-time reaction to the diagnosis, as well as the potential one-year timeline for him to get back to competition.

Check out it out below (via X):

Jones subsequently underwent surgery to repair the pectoral injury, but hasn’t yet returned to action.

“Bones” is expected to make his comeback on Nov. 9 at Madison Square Garden in New York for the rescheduled title defense against Miocic.

Backed by UFC, Nevada changes drug-testing threshold policies for previously prohibited substances

UFC CBO Hunter Campbell presented to the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) before changes were officially made Tuesday.

The Nevada Athletic Commission has instituted new policies that draw the line between what drug testing results it deems “atypical” as opposed to “adverse.”

At a monthly meeting Tuesday, the NAC established new thresholds for substances previously prohibited: GW1516, dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT) long-term metabolite (M3), clomiphene, epitrenbolone (trenbolone metabolite), and selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMS).

The official proposal voted on and approved is as follows, according to NAC executive director Jeff Mullen:

“Any positive test of a proposed substance, which is below the respective proposed threshold, would be considered atypical requiring additional investigation. This investigation may include, but not be limited to, review of the fighter’s test history, interviews, and possible additional testing. The results will remain atypical absent evidence that would negate the presence of mitigation associated with the below-threshold amount. If additional evidence eliminated mitigating circumstances, the case would proceed through standard disciplinary proceedings. These disciplinary proceedings would include the filing of a formal disciplinary complaint, as well as the possible issuance of a temporary suspension.”

The following thresholds for each substance have been instituted, according to an exhibit document acquired by MMA Junkie.

  • SARMs – 0.1 ng/ml
  • GW1516 and its metabolites – 0.1 ng/ml
  • Dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT) long-term metabolite (M3) – 0.1 ng/ml
  • Clomiphene/clomifene – 0.1 ng/ml
  • Epitrenbolone (trenbolone metabolite) – 0.2 ng/ml

UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell was present in person for the meeting. Prior to the vote, he briefly presented to the commission in advocacy for the new thresholds. The UFC and its current anti-doping partner, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, previously instituted similar (if not exact) thresholds for the listed supplements.

“What we’ve seen through the years is there is a certain threshold you’re far more likely to see in contamination rather than intentional use,” Campbell said at the meeting, which MMA Junkie joined listened to. “More importantly, what you’re going to see at certain picogram levels, particularly under one nanogram, under 100 picograms, what you’re going to see is no performance-enhancing benefits. One of the things we try to diligently do, considering the amount of events we hold in the state of Nevada, is we try to get the commission to adopt a level of thresholds that would allow these athletes to compete when one, there was no intentional use, and two, there was no performance-enhancing advantage.”

Campbell detailed how the promotion’s focus on the evolution of drug testing pertinent long-lingering substances began with the notable (and still apparently ongoing) situation involving UFC star Jon Jones and the reoccurring presence of the M3 metabolite.

“I believe on occasion Jon still tests positive for the M3 metabolite, in terms of its residual form,” Campbell said. “We’ve seen that consistently, not just with the M3 metabolite, but with substances like clomiphene. There are substances that are just, for lack of a better term, sticky. They stay in your system for an extended period of time. Again, it’s about fairness to the athletes, too. And from a business perspective, being transparent about the certainty of saying when you have an athlete in this situation, we bring big events to the city, it puts us in a difficult spot where we have a high degree of confidence when talking to the scientists like Dr. (Daniel) Eichner, that this is residual. We don’t want to jeopardize or risk a big event here in town with a guy who continues to test positive for residual amounts of contaminated supplements that dates back three or four years.”

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Much of the brief conversation between Campbell and commission members, including NAC executive director Jeff Mullen centered around the explanation of the difference between “atypical” and “adverse” drug testing results. The commission additionally confirmed fighters who submit atypical urine samples will not have the results of their bouts overturned unless their abnormality crosses over into the “adverse” category.

“I think what we’re seeing is the evolution of the drugs, but more clearly the evolution of testing,” NAC commission chair Dallas Haun said. “It’s gotten to the point, to Mr. Campbell’s good point, some of the stuff is very sticky and doesn’t leave and the performance-enhancing ability is long since diminished. We’re probably right where we should be with the evolution of what we’ve described and how Mr. Campbell has described the fighter side of it.”

While the state that holds the most UFC fights per year will have the same standards as the promotion’s independent drug testing program, other states may or may not fall in line.

As for its internal drug testing program, the UFC’s partnership with USADA will conclude at the end of 2023. The promotion will then launch its new program, in association with Drug Free Sport and headed by former FBI agent George Piro.

UFC’s Hunter Campbell says USADA used Conor McGregor ‘to advance a false narrative,’ demands apology

The UFC is demanding an apology from USADA for associating Conor McGregor in statements that announced the expiration of their partnership.

LAS VEGAS – UFC executive vice president and chief business officer [autotag]Hunter Campbell[/autotag] has responded to statements released by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), and is demanding an apology for comments targeting [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag].

On Wednesday, USADA CEO Travis Tygart issued a statement addressing the split between the UFC and USADA, and [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s re-entry into the drug testing pool. McGregor previously withdrew from the testing pool as he recovered from a broken leg suffered in his UFC 264 trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier.

Tygart’s statement claims the relationship between USADA and the UFC soured as McGregor prepares for a return to action.

“The relationship between USADA and UFC became untenable given the statements made by UFC leaders and others questioning USADA’s principled stance that McGregor not be allowed to fight without being in the testing pool for at least six months,” Tygart said.

Tygart’s statements were directly addressed at a news conference on Thursday, where Campbell, along with senior vice president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitsky, announced the UFC’s new partnership with Drug Free Sport International.

“Disappointingly, they used Conor McGregor as a vehicle to sort of articulate and re-frame a complete misrepresentation of what occurred over the last several months,” Campbell told MMA Junkie and other reporters in attendance at the UFC Apex. “… What I can categorically tell you is, what USADA has put out in the last 48 hours could not be farther from the truth.”

Campbell is of the belief that Tygart’s messaging was a “self-preservation tactic” as USADA prepares to move forward without one of its largest clients. Without invoking McGregor in the statement, Campbell believes USADA’s message would have not received the same level of media attention.

Tygart’s claim that the UFC wanted McGregor to return without having to be tested for six months, as required of any fighter returning to the testing pool, was categorically denied by Campbell.

“At no point in time did Jeff, myself, or any other UFC representative, Dana – not a single person ever went to USADA and told them anything other than Conor McGregor would re-enter the program when he was healthy,” Campbell said. “In doing so, we would require him to be in the program for six months. There would be no exception to the rule. What I said to Travis on multiple occasions, including the call on Monday, was there would never be a situation where Conor would fight until he had been in the program for six months. And my words were, ‘I don’t give a sh*t if he has 37 clean tests.’ This is one of those cases where Conor was the most tested athlete in the UFC before he catastrophically shattered his leg.

“The conversations I had with Conor and his physician when that occurred had nothing to do with fighting, they were legitimately concerned he wasn’t going to regain full use of his leg ever again, including the ligaments around it. And I’ll say it one last time, what they’ve done to him is disgusting. For an entity that holds themself out to have a level of honor and integrity, using him as a media vehicle to advance a fake narrative is disturbing, disgusting, and I think they have some legitimate legal liability that they should be very concerned with.”

According to Campbell, he previously sat in a meeting with McGregor and came to an understanding that there would not be an exemption to the six-month rule. In addition, Tygart was also involved in conversations with McGregor in order to get everyone on the same page.

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Campbell said he had a phone call with Tygart on Monday to deliver the message that the UFC would be going in a different direction beginning January 2024, when the contract with USADA expires. While Campbell says he spoke in a calm demeanor, conversely, Tygart did not react well to the news.

“I couldn’t have been more clear about the reasons that we were making the change, and he was just completely unhinged,” Campbell explained. “Truly, it was a version of a mental breakdown. The only thing that I logically can sit back as I reflect and think on that call is this is an individual that’s dealing with a lot of sh*t right now. I think that call was the straw that broke the camel’s back type of moment.”

Campbell and the UFC are not just content with candidly explaining their side of the story amid the ending of the UFC-USADA partnership. They have demanded that Tygart and USADA issue an apology for their recent statements that claim McGregor’s situation was the reason for ending the business relationship.

“As such, we hereby demand that you publish an appropriate retraction and apology to the UFC by no later than Thursday, October 12 at 5:00 p.m.,” a letter from Campbell’s law firm to Tygart states. “The retraction should acknowledge the falsity of the representations of the statement that express or imply the UFC ended its relationship with USADA in order to expedite McGregor’s return to the UFC. The retraction should also acknowledge the UFC’s repeated representations to you that McGregor will not fight in the UFC until he has spent six months in the testing pool and returned two clean tests as required by the ADP.”

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UFC to continue anti-doping program, announces partnership with Drug Free Sport International

With USADA out, the UFC plans to continue their anti-doping program under Drug Free Sport International.

LAS VEGAS – The UFC partnership with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) may have come to an end, but their anti-doping program will continue under a partnership with a different entity.

UFC executive vice president and chief business officer [autotag]Hunter Campbell[/autotag] along with senior vice president of athlete health and performance [autotag]Jeff Novitsky[/autotag] announced Thursday that the Las Vegas-based MMA promotion will partner with Drug Free Sport International to run its athlete anti-doping program starting in 2024.

This news comes on the heels of a contentious statement by USADA on Wednesday announcing that the UFC did not renew its services for drug testing.

“Eight years ago when Jeff came over to work with Dana (White) and Lorenzo (Fertitta) and Laurence (Epstein) and the whole team here to build out this program, there wasn’t a mechanism to do this in any other way than using USADA,” Campbell told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a news conference. “Frankly, I would say, the first six years of the program, USADA was an incredible partner. I know that we built out the single greatest testing program in all of professional sports. I couldn’t be prouder of the program that was built. In the last several years, and I know a lot of you have followed it and seen it, there’s been a tremendous amount of technological change that has occurred and not only has there been a massive amount of change, there’s also been a change in the science that has gone into it as well as the players in the space.

“… We didn’t terminate the USADA partnership. We just informed them that we wouldn’t be renewing and that we would be building out a new program at the beginning of the year. So, the testing continues, everything is status quo through the end of the year until something happens otherwise, I don’t know. It’s going to be a complicated relationship for the next few months. Conor (McGregor) is 100 percent in the pool.”

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USADA CEO Travis Tygart said in his announcement that differences over whether UFC star [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] should be granted an exemption from the required six-month testing window caused friction between the UFC and USADA, thus causing their contract not to get renewed. Campbell categorically denied those accusations.

The UFC has been working with USADA since 2015 and will continue to run the anti-doping program until Dec. 31.

DFSI currently works with NCAA, MLB, NFL, NBA and other sports organizations. They have been involved in anti-doping programs for more than two decades. [autotag]George Piro[/autotag] will serve as the independent administrator of the UFC’s anti-doping program.

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