Zuffa Announces P.E.D. Screening Policy For Incoming Fighters

In the wake of failed drug tests from Strikeforce stars Cris "Cyborg" Santos and Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, Zuffa announced the formation of a new policy requiring all potential UFC and Strikeforce fighters to undergo a mandatory pre-contract screening for performance-enhancing drugs.

Promotion officials enacted the policy on Tuesday.

"We're committed to the health and safety of our athletes and we take it very seriously," UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta stated. "We already work closely with athletic commissions to protect our athletes and now we're taking it one step further. We're going to test any potential UFC or Strikeforce fighter before finalizing their contract. This shows that we don't want performance-enhancing drugs in our sport."

The policy includes any incoming contestant on the UFC's The Ultimate Fighter series. All current Zuffa fighters will continue to undergo state commissioned drug tests prior to events and at random.

"The health and safety of our athletes is our top priority," UFC President Dana White said. "We've seen the issues performance-enhancing drugs have caused in other sports and we're going to do everything we can to keep them out of the UFC and Strikeforce.

"Our athletes are already held to the highest testing standards in all sports by athletic commissions. Our new testing policy for performance-enhancing drugs only further shows how important it is to us to have our athletes competing on a level playing field."