"Josh barnett wishes he could be like..." - Fans stunned after learning retired fighter has submitted more USADA samples than active UFC champs

USADA decided not to extend its contract with the UFC following a fairly ugly split rife with accusations. However, prior to the pair's separation, it acted as the premier drug-testing authority for the promotion, with countless fighters submitting blood and urine samples to be cleared of PED usage to become eligible to fight.

However, only active fighters were expected to submit testing samples, which brings to question why retired UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, who walked away from the sport back in 2017, has submitted such a high amount of tests. It's been five years since his last bout, and Browne has shown no indications of returning.

But that hasn't stopped him from submitting more testing samples than even some current UFC champions. No one is quite certain about his reasoning for doing so or why he never left the agency's testing pool, but the revelation has drawn a wave of humor and confusion from fans on X.

One fan joked that it might be because the UFC has been offering him fights over the last five years:

"I assume that means that the UFC has been offering him fights for the last 5+ years?"

Another fan joked that the USADA agent administering the tests was merely a big fan of Ronda Rousey, to whom Travis Browne is married:

"The USADA agent is probably just a big Ronda fan. I swear that is what influences some of these counts. For example, the Czech USADA rep is probably the worlds biggest Jiri fan"

Some, however, rightfully described it as odd behavior on Browne's part:

"Odd behaviour"

Though yet another fan went the route of humor by poking fun at Josh Barnett's history with performance-enhancing drugs:

"Josh barnett wishes he could be like travis"

A collage of fan reactions can be seen below:

Fan reactions

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USADA's issues with Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor's octagon return was announced to be against Michael Chandler back in February. However, the bout had no official date, as the Irishman had yet to submit any testing samples to be cleared and made eligible to fight. He was given a deadline but failed to meet it.

Eventually, McGregor lashed out over not being afforded the same testing exemption that Brock Lesnar was given ahead of UFC 200. The Irishman's struggles with committing to standard drug testing left him out of commission for all of 2023.