ONE, WADA go full blast on drug tests

MANILA, Philippines — ONE Championship is partnering with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as it implements full-scale drug-testing among all its fighters this year.

ONE chief executive officer Chatri Sityodtong made the announcement during yesterday’s press conference of ONE: Hero’s Ascent, which is set on Friday at the MOA Arena in Pasay.

“It’s true, we began WADA testing last year and we will be announcing this year,” said Sityodtong during the press briefing at the Grand Ballroom of the City of Dreams. “The good news, last year we did a lot of testing and 95 to 97 percent of our athletes came out clean and we’re just wrapping up.

“This year is going to be full-out WADA standard testing,” he added.

It marked the first time that ONE will go all-out in testing its fighters since it  started operations eight years ago.

And its partnership with Canada-based WADA, a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee to promote, coordinate and monitor the fight against drugs in sports, should help make ONE a drug-free outfit.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship, the biggest fight outfit in the world, has long implemented a drug-testing program done by the United States Anti-Doping Agency for four years now.

During its years of drug-testing, several UFC fighters were found to be positive for performance-enhancing drugs, among them champions Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar and Jon Jones.

Meanwhile, Filipino Geje Eustaquio will defend his flyweight crown against the same fighter he took the title from – Adriano Moraes – in their trilogy this Friday.

Eustaquio snatched the title from Moraes with a split decision in ONE Pinnacle of Power last year, avenging his loss to the latter four years ago.