How Does Drug Testing Work In MMA....When Does it Happen?

Like all pro sports, I believe MMA answers to the same people in charge of drug testing in other pro sports such as American Football (the NFL), Basketball, Hockey, etc. However like in those sports, sadly, there are ways to get by; regarding the whole Vitor Belfort steroid scandal, he's not "the only MMA fighter using 'roids," he's the only one, who was CAUGHT. One of the dangers of MMA, is that you can get thrown in there with a guy running on artificial adrenaline, if you yourself don't have it in your system, and you do not have the skills or experience level in Martial Arts to compensate for the strength, speed and quickness difference, you're @$%#%$. Not all of them juice up; some do, some don't. So, how can you tell who is juicing and who isn't? Its not that simple; you would need to ask an actual expert, and "experts" on steroids, are not sports scientists, but individuals who have been victims of the drug addiction. Back in the 1990's I was really into weight training, did it for 3 years in high school but gave it up in favor of cals my senior year. Why? I was getting big; when I was 19, I weighed 185 lbs, had a 30 inch waistline, and 7% fat. I think flexed, I achieved a thickness un my upper arms of 17 inches. There was one TINY problem though; even though I was lean, I got winded easily. I had too much muscle for my bone frame, I had no endurance at all. I encountered other people with a similar complaint; I have met dudes whose natural bodyweight was 150 lbs, but stacked on 60 lbs of muscle, far more than I ever stacked on. They were lean and they looked good, but, playing their favorite sport got hard all of a sudden. Being strong and bigger feels good, but a body larger than what your bone frame was meant to carry, has its limits. Believe it or not, if you're into sports its not a good idea to mess with weights; cals, will make your arms thicker, but, your core and leg bodymass, will remain more or less close to your natural weight. Meaning, the maximum weight you'll gain with cals, is 20 extra lbs of muscle, and with good symetry, without that muscle getting in the way of cardio strength (endurance). The reason Marvis Frazier, Joe Frazier's son, lost against Mike Tyson, is because Marvis was really into weight training; see, genetically, being Joe Frazier's son, that body of his was only meant to carry a maximum of 205 lbs, the same body weight as his dad, roughly, not the massively hulked up, what was it, 230 lbs? I know that Marvis is a big man, I think he was even bigger than Tyson, largely from lifting weights. Anyway, where Tyson's body was carrying muscle weight more natural to his frame, what he was born with, Marvis' heart was working extra hard just to keep that body moving, although no doubt Marvis had a mean punch thanks to weight training, little good did it do him because he ran out of gas, whereas Tyson, had plenty left in his tank. There is a reason, boxing coaches are against weight training; it has been found across all sports, that the heart treats extra weight as extra weight, whether that extra weight is muscle, or fat, admitedly though given a choice, its better to have extra muscle weight rather than extra fat weight, because, muscle at least does not clog up your heart. Weight training will make you bigger, but the cost on endurance, is heavy. A lot of MMA fighters do intense cals, many, do gymnastics exercises; the reason gymnastics training is popular among MMA fighters, is because Gymnists have the right balance of strength, endurance coordination balance and speed, not to mention over all body quickness. If you can take a gymnist's physical tools and combine them with solid submissions and Muay Thai drills hey, you get someone who is very deadly in the octagon. Part of the reason Brock Lesnar has met with success in MMA, is because he is confirming what non-white trash pro-wrestling fans have known for years; it takes incredible athleticism, for a man that size, to be agile. Pro wrestling is popular because you are seeing 6'5, 245 lb men, doing things like back flips and midair summersaults. Sure those moves won't work in a serious competitive fight BUT, that agility, that endurance relative to the man's size, those are invaluable if you use them with real martial arts moves. Lesnar had a wrestling background, and although inexperienced, his pro wrestling training, made him quicker and more agile than most guys his size. The reason Lesnar is fast for his size, is the brutal pro wrestling training. If Couture wants to get his pride back, he should seriously look into pro wrestling, not for the moves, but for the agility and quickness the training develops, things that are an invaluable asset in a competitive fight. Anyway answering your question directly; the way it works is, get caught, and you get suspended but don't think for a minute, that people don't do it. The modern world of sports, has become really corrupt; so many people juice up, you don't know if you are watching authentic athletic skill anymore.