Tyron Woodley says he lost $10K due to poorly timed USADA visit

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley says he lost $10,000 thanks to a middle-of-the-night visit from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

This incident occurred in Atlanta earlier this year, right before the Super Bowl. Woodley was scheduled for an appearance that was going to pay him $10,000, but regrettably missed this engagement due to an inconveniently timed visit from USADA.

The welterweight champ explained the ordeal at a Monday Media lunch in Las Vegas.

“They tested me Super Bowl weekend,” Woodley said (transcript via MMA Fighting). “The lady came to me, bless her soul, because I said a few un-choice words to her. But with respect. She came to test me at 12 a.m. on Super Bowl weekend. Knowing the reason I was in Atlanta was probably for Super Bowl. And I had some appearances that I was supposed to be at. I had an event with [NFL player] Devonte Freeman and Meek Mill I was supposed to be at, an event with Ludacris and an event with Snoop Dogg.

“And I was in the hotel waiting on her to come in 45 minutes of traffic to test me. So, she tested me around 1 a.m. And I missed those events. So I asked her, I said, ‘Why can’t you test me in the morning? I’m gonna be here.’ [She said,] ‘Oh let me call them and ask them if I can test you in the morning.’ They said, ’No, I gotta test you now.’”

As MMA Fighting points out, an unfortunate detail of USADA’s iron-fisted rule is that athletes are subject to testing 24/7, 365 days a year. The hope is that this will avoid “blackout periods.”

“Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, athletes are subject to out-of-competition, no advance notice testing 365 days a year,” the UFC athlete anti-doping handbook reads. “This is done to ensure that there are no blackout periods during which those looking to gain an unfair advantage could take performance-enhancing drugs without detection. USADA’s testing is designed to maximize detection and deterrence in order to ensure athletes are given the opportunity to compete in an Octagon that is fair and level.”

Tyron Woodley is set to return to the cage on Saturday night, where he will attempt to fend of dangerous challenger Kamaru Usman.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 2/27/2019.