The debate around Nicky Rodriguez and his usage (or avoidance, as the case may be) of PEDs has just taken a new turn, as he’s decided to subject himself to a live blood and urine test with the assistance of Marek Health. This decision comes after he was publicly accused of using steroids by Gordon Ryan, something that the vast majority of professional grappling promotions don’t test for at all. Even those tournaments that do actually drug test, like the IBJJF world championships, generally only test a limited number of athletes and it’s nowhere near as comprehensive as something like the UFC‘s Anti-Doping policy with USADA.
The original accusation by Gordon Ryan didn’t come out of nowhere though, it was essentially in response to Rodriguez stating that Ryan’s success in competition was partially down to his usage of steroids. He isn’t alone in that sentiment either, as even Joe Rogan has said before that PEDs are a factor in Ryan’s success. Of course, Ryan has never actually claimed to be a natural athlete either and the majority of his career has been spent competing at events like the ADCC world championships where there is no drug testing whatsoever.
Nicky Rodriguez on the other hand, has openly claimed that he is a natural athlete and has vehemently denied any accusations of using PEDs throughout his career. That’s what has led to him taking a voluntary blood and urine test in order to prove his claims. While this is obviously nowhere near as effective as the random testing that you might see in the UFC and other major sports organizations, it’s not as if this was something that has been planned for weeks either.
The footage of Nicky Rodriguez taking the live blood test to prove that he doesn’t take PEDs has been uploaded to the official YouTube channel of Zack Telander:
