Oktagon MMA is implementing a new drug-testing program that will following WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) standards, the European fight promotion announced on Thrusday.
The program, per Oktagon officials, was created in conjunction with the Czech Anti-Doping Committee, and designed according to WADA and Czech Anti-Doping standards. Sample collectors (doping control officers) will work hand-in-hand with the Czech Anti-Doping Committee, with the athletes being tested at the discretion of said officers.
The program will launch on June 6, the date of Oktagon 89 in Slovakia. The initial phase of the testing program with focus on stimulants (i.e. EPO) that can be utilized immediately prior to a fight, and which clear the body in a short span. Testing will then expand to include include anabolic substances, steroids and other forms of doping.
“This is one of the biggest steps in OKTAGON history toward the professionalization of the sport. In European MMA, we are pioneers in this direction and the first organization in the region to come up with a real anti-doping system according to WADA and Czech anti-doping standards,” Oktagon co-owner and promoter, Ondřej Novotný, was quoted as saying in Thursday’s press release.
“We are starting in Bratislava, then continuing in Germany. We didn’t want to just create a marketing gesture, but a functional and long-term sustainable system. Therefore, we are simultaneously publishing the list of prohibited substances, testing rules and specific penalties.”
A list of banned substances is now available on the Oktagon MMA website.