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Shorter suspensions are a better solution than longer suspensions for positive PED test results.

I'll say this with the greatest of conviction. The suspensions for testing positive need to be restrained, and not increased.

Everyone reading this should agree. Shorter is better than longer. We all have a stake in this situation because dealing the PED use is going to bring the whole thing crashing down if we're not careful.

Any suspension is bad. Testing positive can ruin your public image and legacy. Those are all serious consequences for testing positive. Not only that, but it's also going to cost you at least one payday if you are testing positive leading up to a fight.

The question then comes, do we really need to kick these warriors further? A long sentence isn't going to help matters. It's going to damage the product and it's going to mean guys we want to see compete, won't be able to. Title defenses and dream fights will be shelved. And people are clamoring for stiffer suspensions?

If you see a wall in your room, go ahead and walk into it, face first. Back up and do it again. That's the mentality of increasing the suspensions on fighters. It's risk vs. reward and I think it's pretty clear that people need to use PEDs if they fear their opponent is using them. Scaring fighters and saying they get a super long suspension as a method of killing off PEDs in the sport? That's not something to trump if you're in the business of holding fights. Fights need fighters. Venues need asses in seats. Commissions need funding from fights. Please now refer to the first sentence of this paragraph. Get the point now?

The real solution is teamwork. Dependencies on PEDs can't stop overnight and it will take a collective effort. Increase the testing, but don't punish fighters even more by increasing the suspensions they face. The better solution is to make them pay financially. Take money out of a future purse, or fine them effective immediately. In that way, those fighters we want to see, will be able to compete sooner, rather than later.

Dare I say that increasing suspensions will kill the UFC, but it very well could do unbelievable damage. I predicted it earlier, that we are working at a perfect storm of issues. Use the threat of increased testing as the scare tactic, not the increasing of suspensions that comes after testing positive. The sport needs the fights and when you add injuries, longer recovery times, and then increased suspensions to go with that rigorous out of competition drug testing? That's called creating a perfect storm.

Update 2: I had a few additional thoughts after reading some of your comments and hearing more from the UFC about this upcoming policy change. The core issue is why guys cheat. They aren't deciding to use PEDs because they see a 9 month suspension as weak. Aren't they using PEDs because it's going to help them recover and train better and harder? If there is truly an epidemic, is the sole reason for that because of the "weak suspensions"? No, I think the reason PED use flourished is because it was simple to beat. No out of competition or random testing is why it flourished. Easy to beat. This created a dependency for guys now. An extreme suspension might work. It might, and that's the key word. If it doesn't, then your business is going to be screwed. You're banking on the premise that guys won't quit unless you punish them much more severely. Well, then I would say just make it a lifetime ban and be done with it. I say that, because the way most people talk, the issue is lack of sentence. If so, and we want a clean sport, then make it one and done. Afterall, after some guys get nailed with a 2 years, people will say it's not enough because afterall, guys are still doing it.

Update: After hearing the UFC press conference, my greatest fears have been realized. It's a massive gamble for the UFC to advocate for year+ long suspensions. The increased testing and random testing is going to be enough. If it's not heavy enough, then big financial penalties to fighters can be equally effective without actually bringing the business down. It's a MASSIVE GAMBLE that long suspensions will get fighters off of PEDs. That is something that nobody can assume. It's only a guess. In this case, you are gambling your business on it. It has bad idea written all over it. I haven't even brought up the fact that we don't know how big a role PEDs have played in keeping the fighters healthy. How about no PEDs means longer injury layoffs or simply more injuries in training. This is absolutely the wild card which nobody has answer to, yet the UFC is putting their business on the line with it.