5 times a fighter blatantly cheated to win a fight in the UFC

#4. Brock Lesnar – vs. Mark Hunt at UFC 200, 2016

Brock Lesnar's win over Mark Hunt was tainted with the stench of PEDs

PEDs are undoubtedly a huge problem in the world of MMA and I could’ve selected from a huge number of infamous fights here – Josh Barnett vs. Randy Couture, Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier, and Ben Rothwell vs. Brandon Vera all come to mind – but since the UFC has been attempting to clean up the sport with their partnership with USADA, only one bout really comes to mind – Brock Lesnar’s win over Mark Hunt at UFC 200.

Lesnar had of course been gone from the UFC since 2011, and given his status as a WWE superstar, he wasn’t expected back in the Octagon anytime soon. But evidently, the thought of leaving the sport off the back of two bad losses was eating at Lesnar, and he managed to cut a deal with WWE brass to return to the UFC for a one-off fight at UFC 200. The only problem? He’d have to submit himself to intensive drug testing from USADA. And even his opponent, Mark Hunt, didn’t believe he was clean, accusing Lesnar of being “juiced up” during the build to the fight.

Unfortunately for Hunt though, the UFC was so desperate for Lesnar – a huge draw – to return that they managed to find a loophole in the USADA rules and allowed him to bypass the four-month testing period usually required to fight. Instead, Lesnar took a few pre-fight tests and then beat Hunt by decision. A few weeks later the truth emerged – Lesnar had failed two pre-fight tests for a banned estrogen blocker. Although the result of the fight was eventually overturned, it still stung with Hunt – who subsequently hit the UFC with a lawsuit as he felt that they were complicit in Lesnar’s cheating. The suit is currently ongoing.