Vinicius Quieroz Tests Positive For PEDs, Released From UFC Contract

Added on Nov 03, 2010 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

When the UFC does events overseas they do not have a commission to operate under in most countries. They follow the Unified rules of mixed martial arts, and become sanctioned under the Nevada State Athletic Commission. One thing the UFC does, when doing shows out of North America, is they drug test their athletes themselves. UFC 120 was held in London, England, and unfortunately Vinicius Quieroz (5-2) tested positive for steroids in his debut fight with the promotion.

Quieroz, fighting out of Brazilian Chute Boxe Academy, was submitted in the bout, but obviously put on a performance to earn him a small bonus. That was until he tested positive for Stanazol, and subsequently let go from the UFC. He was also forced to return his “undisclosed discretionary bonus” according to MMAJunkie.

Chris Leben fought Michael Bisping at UFC 89, and he tested positive for the exact same drug. Leben lost the bout, he was forced to give a third of his fight purse, and was suspended for nine months(the normal amount of time given from a commission.) Leben then came back at UFC 102 in Portland, Oregon with close to a clean slate.

Chael Sonnen fought Anderson Silva at UFC 117 for the middleweight strap. It was a highly publicized event with plenty of trash talking from Sonnen. He lost the fight as well, but he also tested positive for performance enhancement drugs. Sonnen was forced to give up a portion of his purse, and was suspended for close to a year from fighting. In fairness, Chael is going before the CSAC in early December to appeal.

The first big difference between these fighters is that this was Quieroz’s first UFC fight, and I imagine it would anger Joe Silva to find out he was caught cheating in his first UFC fight. I also can’t ignore the fact that Sonnen garnered a lot of press because of incessant asinine trash talk. Also, Leben because of his marketability from being on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, are just more high profile. There is money to be made there. This is a luxury that Quieroz does not enjoy.

The thing that bothers me was when UFC President Dana White threw up his hands after the Sonnen test came back positive and said “What am I to do? The commission punishes them enough. Well, they could remain consistent, and punish everyone the same.

If the UFC really wants to be as premier as the NFL, NBA, or the NHL, they need to be consistent with these rules. An all star quarterback from the NFL gets the same punishment as the second year linemen, and thats the way it should be. It would be fairly easy for the UFC to do this as well, they do not have to deal with a players association or union. They could literally just announce, “If you get popped for any PED’s you will face the commission penalty, and you will forfeit your UFC contract.” I think the days for the UFC being ambiguous about steroids should come to an end. The least they could do is apply the same rules to everyone.