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Author Topic: MMA and X-Com  (Read 1553 times)

Offline Juku121

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MMA and X-Com
« on: January 30, 2023, 12:06:05 pm »
Split from the main thread.

I ceertainly haven't heard of it back then...
Neither had I. But for the enthusiast (mostly in the US, Japan or maybe Brazil), late 90s had a whole bunch of MMA competitions getting themselves established.

Eh, my point was that since X-Com obviously has heard of MMA, it's a strange timeline where it's also heard of drug testing with consequences for MMA fighters. But it's your timeline. I have nothing against an alien invasion that causes MMA promoters to start a serious anti-extraterrestrial-drug-use program. I'd just find it more immersive and funny if there was a reference to the Illuminati (or whatever faction suits best) MMA-afficionados flexing on the promoters. :)

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I dunno, drug testing in sports is a thing? Seriously, what are you going on about?
Drug testing in MMA is notoriously even worse than it is in wrestling or bodybuilding. I mean, it took UFC until 2015 to start working with USADA. Most of the big busts are from 2010s, and even more post-2015. It was a Wild West in the '90s.

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But I want you to acknowledge that only only 1 region out of 14 for this even is STR_NORTH_AMERICA
Sure. Until you take notice that UFC is the very best drug testing MMA has. Even today, US-based fighters complain that it's unfair that nobody really tests people doing a training event in Thailand or wherever. Non-UFC fighters still have far more freedom to dope than anyone in an Olympic discipline could dream of.

And while I don't know anything about this particular discipline, to say that a sporting event bigger than a garage brawl goes without any supervision sounds like an obvious bullshit unworthy of discussion. Even if the procedures were lax, it's not like nothing would have happened if something actually was found.
MMA was not a particularly 'sporting' event in the early days. It took decades for it to evolve into something resembling a mainstream sport, and it's not quite there even today. There also were and are lots of small no-name events where even having a ringside doctor was not a guarantee.

And the authorities turned a blind eye to a lot of it. Many a fighter pleaded 'testosterone therapy replacement' and got off scot-free. You got tested when you turned up, at best. That is, you needed to fuck up your doping pretty badly to even get caught. Unironically, the best standards you were likely to get were what Nevada State Athletic Commission felt like at the time of the fight. Yes, promoters state-shopped for their events.

FFS, Gracie vs Sakuraba II is still listed as a 'legal' win despite the man showing up with 25 times the normal amount of testosterone. All he got was a $2500 'fine' and a 12-month timeout. Which isn't a terribly big deal since MMA dudes have a couple of events per year at most. Granted, he didn't have any more official fights and retired a few years later (though made a single-fight comeback in 2016). He still continues to be Hall of Fame-d and promoting his own brand of BJJ.

And if you start looking into the '90s, it's hard to even find a big name getting busted.

People in the business estimate that the vast, vast majority of fighters use some kind of PEDs. Like, maybe 10-20% are totally clean. Maybe. It's not a particularly controversial take. The USADA deal is a giant step forward, but it's still limited to the UFC.


You should really do some research before you start throwing accusations of 'obvious bullshit'.

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I still can't see how all this is mutually exclusive with the event. You wrote yourself that there were consequences. What would have happened if the effects were more unusual than just high testosterone?
Because a) the consequences I brought up are generally not from the 90s, b) "I'm on TRT, so it's totally okay if I have four times the testosterone of a normal man" was a valid excuse for a long time, and c) if you showed up with a completely unknown substance in your system, chances are the ad-hoc testing bodies of the 90s would have caved to promoter pressure and said "Not on the prohibited list, the fight is on!" Even if your guy was obviously thrice the size of a normal human being.


I mean, it's possible that you got caught and ate some consequences. A $2000 fine and 6 months to prepare for your next fight. It was just vastly less likely in a '90s environment. If you take a look at the 132 guys and gals who gathered enough notice to get themselves noted on Wikipedia, you'll find that under 20 were active in the 1990s. And a grand total of zero were caught then.

Boxing is similar, but it's had much longer to shape up and a lot more public attention turned on it. I'm not sure what Don King would have done with a 'positive for Storm' test in 1998, but with millions on the line instead of tens of thousands, I imagine he'd have thought much longer and harder.


I like the event, it's just that it would have been kinda rare back then, and if a completely unknown substance comes up in an event that's not yet particularly concerned with its integrity... And are they even willing or capable of looking for it? Having the Illuminati put the local authorities on the lookout for Storm because their favourite doesn't do it would be much more era-appropriate and funny.

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I also suggest writing here who has what favorite fighter in mma.
Fedor. There was a time when he was considered unbeatable by default and treated like a demigod. Oh, and the Randleman suplex. :D

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MVP. This dude is just so weird... and it works! And they said counterstriking will never do. It's like he's an alien. ;D