UFC defends dop p

THEY may be at loggerheads in the courtroom but a senior UFC official says when it comes to the overall fight against doping, the organisation is in the same corner as Mark Hunt.

Ahead of the Kiwi heavyweight’s clash with Derrick Lewis in Auckland today, senior vice-president of international and content Joe Carr has defended the UFC’s anti-doping policy and commitment to ridding the sport of performanceenhancing drugs.

Fed up with fighting opponents who have failed or gone on to fail drug tests, Hunt reached breaking point last year after it was revealed that Brock Lesnar recorded a doping violation prior to their bout in July and decided to take legal action against Lesnar, the UFC and president Dana White.

Since then, the ‘Super Samoan’ has not been shy in hitting out at the UFC’s attitude towards doping.

But, while he sympathises with Hunt over the Lesnar situation, Carr says since launching their anti-doping programme with the United States AntiDoping Agency (USADA) in 2015, they have invested millions in cleaning up the sport.

And, ultimately, they want the same level playing field Hunt has been crying out for.

‘‘I get Mark’s frustration and he feels like he’s been burned a few times, but it’s working,’’ Carr told Fairfax NZ.

‘‘How about three years ago when guys were doping and they weren’t getting caught?

‘‘So, yeah, maybe there’s a few things that happened later than he wanted to but the reality is that we invest millions of dollars a year in the USADA programme and we’re catching top-tier guys.

‘‘It hurts our business when they have to sit out for a year or two but we’ve been willing to make that investment to clean up the sport.’’

Hunt’s lawsuit, which was filed in the District of Nevada, claims that the UFC, White and Lesnar knew the former heavyweight champion turned WWE star was using performanceenhancing drugs ahead of their UFC 200 bout.

The ‘Super Samoan’ recently scored a minor victory when the case survived a motion to dismiss by the defendants.

But Carr said whatever was happening in court had little impact on what is just their second event in New Zealand.

‘‘We’re not going to let that be a dark cloud hanging over the event,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s like any relationship, it has its ups and down but Mark’s been with the company for a long time, he’s done a lot of great things for us in Australia and New Zealand.

‘‘There’s very few guys who can walk into any city in a particular country and sell out and that’s what Mark’s been able to give to us in Australia and New Zealand.

‘‘And when he’s on pay-perview cards he definitely influences buys in this region as well.’’

The UFC’s first event in Auckland three years ago was a huge success.

Despite having a much stronger card this time, the buildup has played second fiddle to the British and Irish Lions rugby tour, while the America’s Cup yachting has also been dominating the sports headlines.

Carr admitted the competition had affected ticket sales but the logistics of planning 40 cards