UFC BJJ executive Claudia Gadelha used the post-event press conference following UFC BJJ 6 to set the record straight on her previous comments regarding PEDs, clarifying that she never targeted any specific athlete while reaffirming the organization’s commitment to building a clean sport.
The topic surfaced when a reporter asked Gadelha about Gordon Ryan, who announced his retirement from competition earlier that day, and whether she had previously put a stop to his potential involvement with UFC BJJ due to PED use. Gadelha pushed back on that characterization directly.
“I actually never said that,” Gadelha said. “I was in a podcast, and somebody put me in a position where they talked about Gordon. I didn’t say anything about Gordon specifically. I said that we are working in our anti-d*ug program here at the UFC, and whoever uses any performance-enhancing dr**s will not be at UFC BJJ, and people just assume that some people do dr**s in jiu-jitsu.”
She continued: “We are going to be very careful with who uses d**gs in jiu-jitsu because we want a clean sport here, but I’m not naming names or talking about anybody specifically. It’s all about wanting a clean sport because this is the UFC, and we are working on this program now.”
In an interview last year Gadelha outlined how the promotion’s testing policy will determine which athletes are eligible to compete.
She stated: “Yes, (testing) will come in because we want to professionalize the sport. So, it’s the best in the world against the best, right? The best in the world against the best in the clean world. It’s not the most d*ped, no. No longer d*ped. And Gordon will never compete in UFC BJJ. If you’re d*ped, you won’t compete. So without d*pe, there is no Gordon. ”
“I say this because he says so himself; he refuses to not use (PEDs) because he thinks it is part of an athlete’s package. It’s his philosophy. He is very transparent about this,” she mentioned.
When asked directly about Gordon Ryan’s potential participation, Gadelha was unequivocal: “If he is (on PEDs) he does not compete.”
The PED testing program remains in development, with Gadelha indicating the organization is still building out its structure.
UFC BJJ champion Mason Fowler also weighed in during the press conference, noting that Ryan was simply the first prominent figure to be transparent about PED use in a sport that has historically operated without testing.
“He was just the first person that was open and honest about everything,” Fowler said. “Because for a long time, there’s no testing in the sport. If there’s an untested league like it was before, then you can’t really hate on people that were taking advantage of it because maybe you had to do it to win.”
