Weidman, Masvidal and Poirier recall their worst USADA drug-testing ordeals

Chris Weidman, Jorge Masvidal, and Dustin Poirier have opened up about their most harrowing experiences with USADA drug testing during the agency’s eight-year partnership with the UFC, revealing a string of close calls, frantic journeys, and at least one hidden surgery.

The three veterans discussed the stories on a recent episode of their Deep Waters podcast, reflecting on a period — 2015 to 2023 — when UFC fighters were required to submit to random testing and keep USADA continuously updated on their whereabouts via a dedicated app. Testers had to make contact within a one-to-two-hour window, and once a fighter was located, they could not leave the tester’s eyesight.

“I was golfing one time and so they had to come to the golf course and they waited for me at the turn,” Weidman said. “I had to go take pee and blood, and my boys had to wait for me to do it, because once they see you, you can’t leave their eyesight.”

Weidman also recalled a warning he received after travelling to his mountain house — two hours from his main residence — without updating his location on the USADA app. Testers arrived at his listed address while he was away, and despite racing home, he hit traffic and the tester had already left by the time he arrived.

“I failed a drug test once — I didn’t fail it, but I got a warning,” Weidman said. “I’m like, ‘Bro.’”

The most dramatic story, however, centred on his preparation for UFC 205 in November 2016 — the promotion’s first-ever event in New York City. Three and a half weeks before the card, Weidman suffered a knee injury and underwent surgery without informing the UFC, determined not to be pulled from a show he described as deeply personal as a Long Island native.

Returning from hospital with an IV band still on his arm — intravenous drips being prohibited under USADA rules — Weidman was confronted by testers knocking at his door almost immediately.

“I’m pretending like I just didn’t have a surgery,” Weidman said. “I had to undo all the shit on my leg. It was a f*cking nightmare and I was so paranoid that I was going to get in trouble, but it ended up being good.”

The UFC parted ways with USADA at the end of 2023, transitioning to a new anti-doping programme run by the Drug Free Sport International. The stories shared by Weidman, Masvidal, and Poirier offer a candid look at the friction the old system could generate for fighters navigating its strict compliance demands.