5 UFC fighters who were accused of PED use without any evidence

#4. Israel Adesanya – current UFC middleweight champion

Israel Adesanya's apparently swollen pectoral at UFC 253 caused fans to accuse him of steroid abuse

Current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya certainly doesn’t look like the kind of fighter who abuses anabolic steroids. His physique, while definitely ripped and athletic, isn’t muscle-bound like some of his rivals.

However, that hasn’t stopped him from being accused of using PEDs by a number of UFC fans, primarily after his win over Paulo Costa at UFC 253.

The reason for the accusation was Adesanya’s seemingly swollen right pectoral muscle during the fight. Many observers saw it as a definite sign of steroid abuse.

As many people are aware, gynecomastia – or the enlargement of breast tissue in males – is a red flag when it comes to potential use of anabolic steroids.

However, Adesanya was quick to deny the accusations, stating that he didn’t need the “crutch” that steroids would provide. He also added that he was undergoing tests to attempt to find out the cause of his swollen pectoral.

So if I inject the steroids in my other tit. Will it get gyno too? Asking for a friend.... 💉💉💉 @usantidoping

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) October 4, 2020

So what’s the truth here? The likelihood is that Adesanya certainly isn’t using anabolic steroids, particularly as he’d been tested by USADA on 32 occasions before the fight with Costa.

However, until a genuine explanation for his swollen pectoral is found, it’s likely he’ll suffer more accusations in the future.

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#3. Johny Hendricks – former UFC welterweight champion

Johny Hendricks was accused of PED abuse when his career downturn coincided with USADA's testing regime

Another fighter who never failed any drug tests during his UFC career, but was often accused of PED abuse, was former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks.

A former NCAA Division I champion wrestler, Hendricks came into the UFC in 2009. He put together a fantastic run that took him all the way to the UFC welterweight title in 2014. Along the way he defeated the likes of Carlos Condit, Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann.

But ‘Bigg Rigg’ was seen as a suspicious fighter by many of his peers. This was partly because he reportedly refused to undergo more stringent drug testing prior to his title fight with Georges St-Pierre at UFC 167.

When USADA began to test the UFC’s fighters in 2015, Hendricks was one of the most notable stars to suffer a major drop in form. So much so that he lost five of his last seven UFC fights before his 2017 retirement.

‘Bigg Rigg’ claimed that USADA’s testing did cause his career to slide downwards – but only because they banned the use of IVs for rehydrating after a heavy weight cut.

Just found out that i have had 25 test from usda and for the people that want to hate i have never failed one test. After today it will be 26 clean test

— Johny Hendricks (@JohnyHendricks) June 1, 2018

However, despite never testing positive, Hendricks was outright accused of using steroids by former foe Matt Brown in a 2018 interview. ‘The Immortal’ stated that he was probably the UFC’s “most obvious” steroid abuser.